DARK MAGIC THE ARK 1
by REDROOM VALINTINESDAY
Summary: Yogi falls into a world completely dangerous from his own. He meets an Avatar named Gareki and they both don't get along during their first meeting after Yogi was almost killed by trolls. But soon they find themselves going on a dangerous journey just to get Yogi back home to save his kingdom along with his sisters. What will happen on the way?( Full Summary Inside)
1. Summary

**Book 1: DARK MAGIC THE ARK 1**

 **Book 2: DARK WAR THE ARK 2**

 **Arthur: GothinBlack**

 **Genres: Fantasy, Adventure, Drama, Teen Fiction, Romance, Yaoi.**

 **Full Summary:**

 **10 years have passed since the death and the destruction of Yogi's parents and the Sun Kingdom. Now turning the age of 19 Yogi inherits the full power of the amulet that had saved his kingdom long ago. But evil comes flooding in once again by the King of darkness himself, Vileus, A lord of the hellish realm who wants nothing but revenge against Yogi and to gain power over the amulet to have the Sun Kingdom turn into a hellish realm just like his own realm along with the other realms he plans to take over. But after Yogi is captured along with his sisters Vileus gains a half of the amulet which causes Yogi to have no other choice but to jump into a portal in order to save the other half from being taken away. Promising to himself he would make it back to save his sisters and kingdom he falls into a world completely different from his own.**

 **Called The Arcial Realm a world that is dangerous for new comers such as himself to be in. Here he meets Gareki who is a prince in The Arcial Realm. He's an Avatar meaning a mythical human creature who has the ability and control over ice and snow. Gareki has his own past that makes him hate Outsiders and to him Yogi is an Outsider, causing their first meeting not to go so well but Yogi tells him he needs help to get back to his own world to save his kingdom. Despite the hatred Gareki has for him he saves him from being killed and reluctantly offers to help him on the journey towards the Realm Gates that'll take him back to his own realm, but that doesn't mean the two of them get along on their dangerous trip. Besides this they get pursued by the dangers lurking in Gareki's world and only he knows how to handle most of them.**


	2. Prologue

It all had happened quickly. There was nothing he could do at that point and he so wished that he could have at least protected her. He could remember that night but only the flashes of death and destruction had pictured themselves inside his head.

Motionless, not breathing, and pale. Her hair drained of it's blonde only turning into a sad grey. Her eyes no longer had the bright violate he had been so comforted by ever since birth.

That one night his mother and father had died. He felt their souls leave the castle along with the souls of guards who had risked their lives to protect his family.

The dark realm had done such a devastating and heartless thing to his home all for the sake of power for wanting to take over each and every realm in the world just by getting their hands on the royal amulet.

A sacred power that had now been passed down to him by his mother before her death.

My name is Yogi, prince of Rimahakka. I was only 9 at the time of my parents deaths but let me take you back of how it all happened. My day had started like it always had but that night things would change and lead me on a whole different path of strange and dangerous experiences that I had thought I'd never needed cross before.

But I had determination on my side and I was glad I did.

Flash Back. . .

The castle shook with another quake as Yogi and his mother ran down the royal halls for safety.

Yogi ran as fast as he could on his short legs along side his mother, she held his hand tightly leading him through the crumbling halls. They just needed to get to the safe room the only place that wouldn't collapse on top of them.

"Mother, What about father!?" Yogi whined being pulled down another hall into a room.

His mothers long flowing purple dress cascaded around her, fluttering slowly as she ran barefoot on the rock covered marble floors, stumbling her ways through.

"He's fighting along side the royal guards!" She yelled in an Rimhakkian accent, stopping in her tracks at a golden door she reached her hand to the middle of it placing it in the center where bright white lines trailed their way like a pattern on top the door's surface unlocking the seal that kept it shut. The golden latches broke apart loudly, vibrating through the echoing halls of the almost broken down castle.

She shoved the doors open grabbing onto Yogi's hand once more as she lead him into the room Stopping in front of a desk she pushed it aside where a hidden door was. She pulled it open and lifted Yogi inside the small enclosed space fit for only him she then held his hand, Vileus's army wouldn't find him here— hopefully. She could only pray this rain of power for the darkness king, Vileus would stop soon. He had to be defeated.

She stared at Yogi in his shining violate eyes with expectation before her eyes broke away from his, only to look down as she reached behind her neck and unlocked the royal amulet with the families sun crest hanging from it's chain, the hard medal shined brightly in the color of silver with a dark red jewel installed into the center.

"Stay here, okay? You mustn't come after me." She instructed looking down at him with tear stricken eyes.

Yogi notified her voice as being serious, this wasn't a playful situation at hand here but something much more dangerous. He knew this certainly from what he had seen from his bedroom window before Vileus's men had barged through the main gates of their kingdom and had quickly slayed the royal guards, not wasting time at killing them.

Yogi's mother made a move to shut the small door, where he was hiding but he moved his hand in the way causing it to halt in her haste.

"You said you'd stay!" he protested tears starting to swell in his eyes.

"I'm sorry my child, but alas, I cannot." She whispered sadly, tears of her own forming just as a loud bang came on the closed doors behind her. She gasped before turning around, her golden locks of blonde hair flowing past her shoulders before she turned back towards him.

"Take this," She said quickly, putting the amulet over his head, the medal crest fell over his neck dangling against his stomach since he was still far to young for it to reach his chest." I must leave, do you understand?" Her hands rose up to hold both sides of his face pushing her forehead to his, her violate eyes searching his for understanding.

"These are dark days indeed." She muttered closing her eyes just for a few seconds before reopening them. They lit up intense, afraid but yet brave and protective all at once.

"I don't want you to leave me." Yogi protested in his young Rimhakkian accent, tears running down his cheeks and down her fingers which were still caressing the sides of his face. The door behind her banged once again causing her to jump a little.

"You must be strong my son, you are the prince of this kingdom do you understand? You must live through this. Me and your father believe in you." She held up the amulet around his neck. This shale protect you with it's power, you control it's magic now but not fully but one day you will understand how. Fight for your life when the time comes. Heed my words, yes?"

Yogi reluctantly nodded." Yes mother."

With that said she kissed his forehead long and hard before pulling away and shut the door just as he whined for her to come back but his plea was unheard by the door banging open from the other side. They had finally broken in.

He heard Vileus's henchman barge into the room asking where the amulet was but of course his mother never gave them the information they wanted so she paid dearly for it, with her life.

Yogi heard the struggle, the shuffling of quick feet, and the grunts of pain from both Vileus's men and his mother. He assumed they were fighting as he heard the clashing of swords hit against each other but suddenly the sound of a sword cutting into flesh was what he heard soon after before everything went dead silent and then reality hit and suddenly there was the loud sounds of men searching the room. He heard desks and drawers being roughly pulled out, shoved aside and flipped over. Papers ripping only to slam to the floor with a loud slap.

He gasped pulling himself back against the confined space he was allowed, pulling in his knees against his chest as he gripped onto the amulet.

"I promise that these dark days will be over, for good one day." Yogi muttered just as the stomping feet outside the small door had stopped and everything went silent again. Yogi's big eyes looked frantically to his left and right as his pulse beat faster with anxiety. But of course he couldn't see anything but the darkness around him.

A few breath taking moments later the small door slammed open and one of Vileuse's men yanked him by the leg out of the small enclosure.

Yogi yelled in fear as he dangled upside down in the man's grasp. The amulet around his neck hung low in full view for Vileus's men to see.

The men glared at him menacingly with triumph." We found the amulet, the king will be pleased!"

"You can't have it—" Yogi snapped but was stopped short once he was slapped across the face. The force forcing him to turn his head the other way. It stung, never had he felt such a pain like this, his parents never laid a finger on him. Just as he reopened his eyes he saw his mothers corpse on the floor.

Her hair an ice silver notifying that she was in fact dead. This was what happened when Rimhakkians died, there hair would turn into an ashy grey. Yogi looked over her in shocked horror. as his eyes trailed over her dark purple dress a silhouette around her unmoving body and as he looked closer he realized she wasn't breathing. A pool of thick dark blood lay beneath her from the gashing wound in her heart. Her beautiful face a pale one as her eyes were wide open also a grey, losing their vibrant violate.

Yogi's eyes widened in horror. "No Mother," He screamed, voice cracking as tear drops fell to the ground." Please no." He whimpered. Unbeknownst to him, his emotions of both sorrow and anger reached the amulet around his neck powering it little by little.

"She's already dead, young prince and so will you if you don't hand me the amulet!" The man spoke coldly. He reached a hand up to the amulet and took a hold of it but flung back dropping Yogi as it's medal burned him harshly.

He yelled in agony as his hand melted away revealing the flesh then the bone that hung lose underneath his burning skin.

The men around him stood shocked watching the man crumble to the floor holding his melting hand. The smell of burning flesh filled the room as the henchman's screams reverberated to the sealing.

Yogi got to his feet the anger fueling him and his untapped powers that he yet didn't understand how to control flowed around him like an invisible force that felt heavy on his small shoulders. It was a relieving power, so strong and yet delicate, it was powerful and all he could think at that moment was to use it.

His mind was taken over by the amulets power. "No evil soul in this castle will touch this amulet!" he yelled, his voice echoing around the room as his eyes brightened to a glowing violate and the amulet glowed increasingly bright unleashing it's power.

"No more will these men kill the innocent people of this kingdom any longer, I send you all back to which you came, back to hell!" with that said Yogi kneeled down on one knee and formed his hand into a fist and slammed it down on the marble floors cracking it. Another bright light erupted from the cracks and the floor opened up like a vortex sucking all Vileus's henchman into it's depths taking them all back to their own realm. Even the king of darkness himself, Vileus was sucked into the abyss.

"You'll rule the day you defy me, boy!" Vileus spat in anger as he was sucked further and further away hand outstretched towards Yogi as the boy emotionlessly stared back at him without remorse. Blonde strands of hair whipped in Yogi's face as he stood near the edge of the vortex, not being sucked in by it's strong currents of wind. Possibly because he controlled this power and the spell had only been to dismiss the evil and he wasn't evil.

The young prince subconsciously gripped onto the amulet making the vortex disperse and the floors to crumbled back into place as if they hadn't just faltered.

"I won't allow their kind to break into this kingdom again," he spoke in a whisper making himself another vow. Yogi looked down at the amulet and held it within his one hand grasp realizing his potential and the power flowing in his finger tips at the amulets touch, he would need to learn how to use this power if he were to wish to protect his kingdom with it.

But speaking of the kingdom the reality was real, his mother was dead even his father who had been fighting with the royal Rimhakkian guards. He just knew his father was lost in battle bleeding out and dyeing, he could feel his soul leaving this world as he thought of this just now. There was nothing he could do to save his life.

"Young prince!" two royal guards ran into the room to see him standing alone looking down at the floor. Yogi quickly looked up in surprise as one of the guards went to his mother's side and the other came to his to see if he was alright.

"Are you injured anywhere?" spoke the guard named Samuels. Yogi shook his head slowly letting go of the amulet, he tucked it away underneath his shirt for safe measures. He felt as if he shouldn't trust anyone at the moment for what he had just transpired, he wanted to keep his mothers treasure as well as his families treasure safe with himself and use it for the good of his home.

Samuels looked to where the amulet was around Yogi's neck and nodded assuringly.

Samuels was a well trusted family guard hired by Yogi's father. The guard often stood near the throne where both his mother and father sat. He took care of Yogi at times so Yogi now felt safe with him more then any other guard in the castle.

Samuels was a lean man in his 20's with dark slicked back chestnut hair, a dangling curl hung over his forehead. His eyes were a deep violate like all the Rimhakkian's had. He was a strong and handsome knight loyal to the family.

Samuels focused his sights back onto the other guard that was kneeled by Yogi's mother. The guard turned to Samuels giving him a knowing look with a nod.

Samuels looked down sadly now knowing that the queen was indeed dead. "May she rest in peace." he spoke softly before placing a gentle hand on Yogi's shoulder."Prince, You should come with me— "

He was cut off by a cry. Yogi gasped at the sound and pulled away from Samuels's hand before running down the hall where the familiar cry was heard, he could hear both guards run after him.

"Where are you going?" asked Samuels.

Yogi didn't turn back to answer he just kept running to where he had heard the cry. He turned down the long hall, side stepping a crumpled half of a statue that had been on the large window ledge from above. He ran down the hall before bursting through the door of his sisters room.

He breathed hard as he whipped his head around from side to side searching for the two people that might still be alive in his family.

He gasped once again once he found a secret door. He moved towards it noticing that it needed a key. The crying voices were coming from inside. He landed on his knees."Tsukuomo, Miu are you in there?!" he yelled knocking on it's hard wood.

"Big brother," came Tsukuomo's curious voice. "Yes we are, help us!"

"I will." He got back to his feet before taking another look around the room. The room was a mess definitely not how their bedroom had looked before Vileus's men had barged into the castle.

He heaved a breath as he scanned and rummaged in the broken toys and wood as well as bits and pieces of wall paper. His hand felt something medal and thin before he quickly held it up to see what he had picked up, it was a key.

He got to his feet just as both guards had found him." Young Prince? Good he's in here." said one of the men that he didn't know the name of. Samuels came into the door way and looked at Yogi. His eyes followed the boy as he walked back over to the door and entered the key before twisting it, the wooden door creaked open and there sat his two younger sisters, Tsukuomo being at the age of 8 and Miu 5.

He grabbed both of there hands pulling them up to their feet before he hugged them tightly, thanking the sun Gods that he at least had some family members left undead.

He released them and smiled. "The both of you are uninjured , correct?"

"Yes." Tsukuomo nodded answering for Miu as well. She held her little sisters hand. "Where are mother and father?"

Both guards exchanged sad looks but before they could answer Yogi did it for them."They're dead, Vileus killed them with his men." Yogi said looking blank but inside he was torn by the news.

Tsukuomo reached her hands up to cover her mouth as she was paralyzed in shock, her violate eyes wide as her head shook from left to right slowly. "N-no, mother and father are strong, I refuse to listen to such an accusation!"

"Vileus is in the wrong," Yogi snapped letting his tormented emotions get the better of him. " He came here and he killed them with his men, this is reality, Tsukuomo. You may not feel it yet, but I felt their souls leave this world. They're gone." His voice cracked.

She gasped again dropping her hands away from her face and sunk to her knees Miu sharing a sad look on her face just as the guards were.

"What was Vileus seeking by coming here?" her voice was deep as she looked down with anger. Her fingers clenching into fists against her dress.

Yogi sagged his shoulders before reaching in his shirt and revealing the royal amulet. Tsukuomo looked up and she stared in shock at it's silver, immediately feeling the warmness of it's power sink into her skin before relinquishing back to Yogi as if drawn to him and with that she knew. . . she knew that the power in this amulet was now inside his body ready for him to use at his own will and strength.

"Who gave you the amulet," she insisted quickly, getting to her feet. She reached towards it and touched it with her fingers, it's power excepting her since she was apart of the royal family heir and so was Miu.

"Mother did, before she sacrificed herself for me in the safety room." He answered mildly, bringing his eyes down to the amulet that had saved their lives.

Tsukuomo looked down running her thumb over the floral design along the circular rim of it's hard medal only to trace it over the sun design. It was truly a gorgeous piece of art work but definitely shouldn't be treated as such, it may have looked pretty but this was a weapon holding strong power inside of it. It was a very good thing that Vileus didn't have his hands onto it.

"Young prince?" Spoke one of the guards. "Come with us. All of you."

All three of them looked at one another before turning and following Samuels and the other guard down the hall.

Yogi followed the long white cape that hung from Samuels shoulders from his dark red royal guard uniform with gold out lines, the uniform held tightly to Samuels strong muscular build that showed Yogi how much skill it had taken him to become a guard to their family and how strong this man was Yogi hoped to be just like him one day. He could hear the medal bottoms of Samuels boots clicking against the marble flooring walking past bits of crumbled rock and wall from Vileus's destruction.

They walked until they finally entered a room that lay untouched by Vileus's henchman. They all walked inside and immediately the room grew dark. Tsukuomo looked around holding Miu's hand as she whimpered." It's fine Miu."

"Dark, don't like the dark." she whimpered hugging her sisters leg, it was normal for the Rimhakkian race to dislike the darkness, after all they were made for the sun it was the main thing that helped them survive even with out food.

Yogi kept calm and listened closely for Samuels next words. The man spoke in a perfect Rimhakkian language as the room's walls began to brighten with light blue line patterns before all of it went towards the ground making the floors brighten up underneath them. The room suddenly got brighter as blue sparks lifted from the ground to reveal a large stone in the center of the room.

The amulet that was around Yogi's neck brightened up a dark blue , shining it's way through the dark and lit up ever nook and cranny of the empty room. Yogi gasped in surprise as he continued to look at the large stone in front of him. "Where are we?"

"This is where the amulet laid before it was passed onto you by your mother, she kept it from Vileus because if he get's his hands on it, it could mean the end of us all," Spoke Samuels in a deep serious voice before he looked forward holding his hand out. The blue sparks that were floating around the room formed together over his hand before turning into a screen showing the amulet.

"This is the amulet before we knew what it was or what it was here for," Samuels spoke carefully, Yogi held onto every word he said listening intently before he continued. "We all initially thought that this amulet was dropped from the God Helios in which he was paying us his depths by helping us with the dark ages that Vileus had forcefully driven over us before all three of you were born, this was the time your mother and father were younger, around your age prince." Samuels spoke.

Yogi blinked watching the screen in front of them show images of what the world used to be like when Vileus was in charge.

"Vileus is a lot older then you think," Samuels stated." he's been on this earth as long as any of us living could ever know, we began to think that he was the son of the devil, Satan, coming up to earths surface only for a means to take over everything with eternal darkness, he shut out the sun and everyone in this kingdom was forced to do his bidding for quite a time until your mother wished to the sun gods to spread the rays of sunlight over this very kingdom once more. As you all know our race cannot live without the sun, it is our main source."

Yogi and his sisters nodded knowingly before he continued.

"Many people were growing sick, weak even, from the neglect the sun would give to them thanks to the darkness, many were dying each day but no matter what your mother kept wishing for the sun to bestow it's rays down to all of them, days passed and she began to lose hope but only slightly. She and your father would sneak away from the laboring camps to wish towards the skies one last time until one day an amulet fell from the sky.

"It fell right onto the ground in front of them both. They were unsure about it. What it was? What was it there for and what would it do? All those questions were answered as soon as your mother picked it up and she held it to the skies, doing this caused a strong light to come from the center of that amulet and burst into the clouds and slowly the darkness in the skies were no longer there, it revealed the sun's bright rays shining over the kingdom and everyone grew strong and healthy once again and as for Vileus he shrunk underneath the suns bright rays going back to his own dark kingdom in hell."

"Your mother and father kept that amulet and stored it in this very room we are in, no longer needing it since Vileus was no longer a threat. Or so they thought. Vileus was relentless when it came to ruling over this land he attacked once again trying to take over the throne but was stopped by the amulet held up by your father. In those days we were able to stop him quickly but now that time has continued we weren't able to stop him before his men charged the castle and killed them both"

"A lot of my own guards died tonight trying to protect what they could but alas his men have grown stronger and the king and queen's power have grown weaker by the years, making them no longer able to handle the power of this amulet, so now Prince." Samuels turned towards him.

"You are the eldest of your sisters and the most educated for this matter. The treasure of this kingdom is now entrusted with you. You mustn't let the wrong hands of darkness touch it or else this land will experience darkness again, and Vileus will take over this kingdom. Now the question is, are you willing to risk your life to protect and restore this kingdom?"

Yogi stared up at him with wide eyes feeling a huge weight land on his shoulders. He remembered his mother's dead body lying on the floor as well as his father's soul leaving this world. All the Vileus had done was unforgivable and he needed to pay dearly for what he had done to his home and family.

Yogi's eyebrows creased as he stared up at Samuels." I am."


	3. Silent Night

_10 years later. . ._

Yogi sat on the window seal in his bedroom, staring out at the full moon. It shown brightly against his skin and laid his shadow flat behind him on the carpeted floor.

His feet dangled from the open window as he eyed the garden of roses in the back of the castle that had been well attended to by the maids. Everything was quiet and only the sound of the trees rustled with the constant chirping of grass hopers.

It had stayed this way ever since that one day 10 years ago when the castle had been nearly been destroyed. But things were different now. The castle had been built back up and the kingdom was at peace, children ran around the court yards doing their chores or simply goofing off, gardeners tended to their farms and set out fruits for the festivals, and families were at joy, they were all happy, but Yogi had a strange sense that something was off.

He hadn't felt this unsettled before— not in a long time, and what was there to be upset about in the first place when everything was going so smoothly?

Vileus and his henchman had been sent back to their own dark realm, a place where no one in the sun kingdom had even dared to venture, not even the royal guards themselves and they were known to be the most faithful and fearless guards in the castle. But it wasn't like they weren't, Yogi just wouldn't allow them to go to the realm. It was too dangerous.

Yes, he remembered the stories that his parents used to tell him about that hellish place. No one from the sun kingdom would ever come back from going there, so Yogi wouldn't take any chances of sending the castles gaurds to their deaths.

He sighed before closing his eyes, he focused his thoughts, something he normally did to feel calmer, more sane when it came to so much responsibility of being the next heir to the throne.

Suddenly he felt the heavy weight of power coursing through him. His every muscle and vein was filled with the power of the crest that hung over his neck, hidden underneath the long sleeve white button up shirt he wore. He sighed once more letting the calming magic flow around him. The amulet it self was like a beacon, beckoning for it's people to be protected and that was exactly what Yogi was going to do, he made a vow to protect those all around him, and that meant his kingdom as well.

After all he was the eldest son in the royal family who happened to be turning 19 tomorrow morning and that was the day when his full potential over the amulet would awaken and would fully transfer itself and power over to him instead of giving half of it's power over to his body and mind.

That day would mean full responsibility, definitely something he had and was entirely ready for. He had been prepared ever since the day his mother had handed the crest down to him.

He wouldn't let his parents down. That was the least of what they would have wanted before they had died.

A noise in his room abruptly broke his concentration and caused him to whip his head around and raise one of his hands to the dark figure near the doorway and magic flowed through his finger tips ready to hit the person with a light purple blast of light.

Tsukuomo's violate eyes widened and the bright orb of light from Yogi's hand reflected in her eyes brightly causing her to gasp at his sudden quick movements." Brother, it's just me!"

Yogi quickly dispersed the blast of light from his palm by gripping his hand into a tight fist before setting it back down onto the windows ledge." Tsukuomo, what are you doing here? You know better then to sneak up on me like that! I could have hit you."

She nodded with her hands raised defensively." Sorry, I just wanted to see. . .never mind." She walked over to him on the ledge and sat down on a near by cushioned couch. Her night gown was a light pink that ended around her mid thighs, the fabric trailed behind her as she walked causing the moonlight from the open window to catch some of the details on the fabric that made it sparkle.

"I see that your magic is getting stronger." She stated quietly with a small smile on her lips, curiosity evident in her glowing violate eyes as she sat in the shadows.

It was normal for the Rimhakkian race to have glowing eyes when in the darkness, it was a natural thing for their type of people.

Yogi looked down at his no longer glowing hand and spread his fingers wide to look at the palm of his hand." I suppose," He eyed her in the corner of his eye before asking again, " What are you truly here for, I know it's not like you to just waltz in here just to not say something that's on your mind."

She looked slightly surprised with her eyebrows lifting before they went back to their natural position, she brought a fist up to her mouth and cleared her throat before letting it rest back into her lap," I. . .I saw a bright purple light coming from underneath your door, so I was curious to what it may be."

Yogi's eyebrows furrowed perplexedly." Do you think you may have just been seeing things?"

She cocked her head at him in a sort of uncertain manner." I know what I saw. Did you not see it brother, it was in your room? You couldn't have possibly missed it, it was as bright as the stars—no rather the moon?" she put a finger up to her chin in thought.

Yogi shook his head, of course in this world they lived in it was impossible to think that the unrealistic was unreal, because everything had a perspective of magic or sorcery, or witchcraft something found in fairy tales or the human imagination. But it was possible in this world, so it would be wrong of Yogi to mislead his sisters words to be just her imagining things when she really wasn't.

Yogi looked back down at his hand," Maybe it had come from me, Tsukuomo, I do tend to emit a bright purple light from my body when I'm concentrating on using my magic."

She crossed her arms." I do find it strange that only you can use magic but me and Miu cannot, I feel. . . jealous."

Don't be, trust me magic is a lot to handle. It took me years to just master it to come out of my hands when I want it to, and I only have these powers because of the amulet around my neck, so don't feel jealous."

She nodded before asking," Could I see it?"

He stared at her for a second before looking away and reached into his slightly unbuttoned shirt for the circular piece of medal before holding it out for her to see. Tsukuomo got up from where she was sitting and approached the crest without touching she examined it's beautiful design.

The sun was engraved into it's medal making it look even more powerful to her eyes and just as it had done long ago she felt the strong energy from it flow around her before dismissing back to Yogi as if it were drawn to him in a way that others couldn't.

"You're the eldest," She said in an understanding voice." Is this why mother gave this to you?"

He nodded." You're 18 now Tsukuomo and trust me soon as I die this amulet will be passed down to you and at a certain age of your maturity you'll understand how to work it's powers, it'll give itself to you."

She looked up at him, her eyes shining from the moon light, she paused for a moment in thought as she tried to understand his words," So just like you then, when you come of age tomorrow morning the amulet will awaken and give it's full powers to you, is that it, Yogi?"

He smiled. Of course both of his sisters weren't really knowledgeable when it came to the royal amulet since it wasn't their turn to inherit it yet, so he wasn't surprised if Tskuomo or either Miu asked him one-hundred questions about it.

" Yes."

She smiled back before looking back down at the amulet." Do you think you could tell me how to use it's power, just a quick lesson?"

Yogi put a hand on her shoulder and she looked into his eyes again." Now why would I tell you when I can show you something way more better then just words." He stated before getting to his feet and letting go of her shoulder.

She took a few steps back and watched him intently, not trying to miss a single detail of what he was about to do.

Yogi took the amulet off of his neck and held it at arms length in his grasp, laying the crest flat in the palm of his hand, his eyes glaring at it with concentration before he slowly shut them and blew out a soft breath through his nose as he calmed his nerves and focused on one main thing and that main thing was the amulet in his hand.

The wind came in through the open window and fluttered around the room causing both his own and Tsukuomo's hair to ruffle. The wind blew in a circular motion around Yogi's body as the amulet in his hand glowed bright purple just like the light Tsukuomo had seen under his door.

It brightened up the entire room in an almost blinding ray of light. Tskuomo pulled her arm above her eyes to lower the intense glare the light brought into them as she continued to look closely.

A few seconds later the wind had died down and Yogi's hair slowly lifted upwards and Tsukuomo watched as his feet lifted away from the ground and a purple light outlined his entire body.

Her eyes widened and her mouth hung open as Yogi levitated in mid air.

She knew that this had to of taken Yogi some time and skill to learn to do this, and it may have just taken him a lot of concentration as well. Everything needed to be quiet or else she was sure he would mess up.

Just then the door barged open to there 15 year old sister Miu.

Yogi's eyes opened and they were glowing a dark violate but as soon as his concentration was broken they turned back to their natural color and the next thing he knew he had fallen back to the ground, right onto his back.

He leaned up and grabbed his head, rubbing it before looking up at his two sisters standing over him to see if he was alright.

"Sorry brother, didn't mean to," Miu says with smile on her lips clearly as if she had done it on purpose.

Yogi sighed, resting his arm on his knee." When will you two learn to knock?"

They both just giggled causing him to smile.

They were his only family and he felt lucky that he at least had two sisters left alive. A part of him that still lived on that we're his own blood.

That one day when the castle, not only his home but his sisters as well had almost been destroyed— he felt as if he couldn't forget the tragic events that had occurred. His mind wouldn't allow it no matter how hard he tried. The strong emotions he had felt once he saw his mothers dead body on the marble floors of the safe room became permanently linked to his emotions and his memories.

Just the simple thought of his parents deaths made him angry for revenge—but, he needed to stay calm. Nothing ever came good from acting on too much anger. If he were to let it go that far then this very kingdom would be dusted apon by war, and there was no way in hell he wanted that like those dark demons had when they came here looking for the amulets power.

Yogi held the amulet in his grasp still. Opening his hand wider to look at it's engraved detail of the sun. He needed to protect this power just like the power was protecting him.

Yogi looked back up at his two sisters." Alright you two, I have a big day tomorrow and I'm afraid you'll both need to go to bed."

"No, I just got here," protested Miu."I want to see that magic you were doing."

"You'll see me do it tomorrow, once the amulet has fully excepted me."

He got to his feet and walked them both out of his bedroom.

"No fair, Tsukuomo got to see you use it so many times during your training sessions with Samuels, when am I going to see you use it before it has even excepted you," Miu asked as Yogi walked with them down the long hallway, her voice echoed through out the vicinity.

"You have lessons of your own Miu of how to be a proper princess, you have no time to be goofing off and watching me do magic," Yogi said putting the amulet back around his neck before putting it into his shirt.

Miu crossed her arms with a roll of her eyes. Tsukuomo smiled as she came up with something clever.

She nudged Miu with her elbow getting her attention. "You know brother showed me how he levitated and he even showed me one of his blasting spells, it was quite amazing."

Tsukuomo had said it in such a way that she knew it had gotten Miu annoyed.

Miu gaped at her before pointing a finger at her older sisters face." You see this brother?! She teases me, she teases me all the time, I hate it!"

Tsukuomo just giggled as she sauntered ahead of them both feeling very triumph with herself." It isn't my fault sister that you aren't as great of a princess as I am, I guess you could say I was born with it—OOF!

Miu pushed her causing Tsukuomo to stumble a little before she turned to Miu and glared with her hands on her hips." See this is why you still are in princess academy, training with Ms. Taila."

Miu scrunched up her nose in disgust." Don't mention her name, she's terrible, definitely not the most worse teacher I've had over the years but she comes close. . . about an inch."

Tsukuomo shook her head before laughing once more." What ever you say sister."

Yogi watched them both rant on and on about random things. It was really entertaining to watch them both act so immature.

He wondered what was so interesting to peek their curiosity just by him learning and doing magic? If he thought about it, it wasn't really something to rant on and on about but to them, they were just normal, regular people who didn't have the abilities to possess such powers, he supposed it was pretty amazing to be able to use magical abilities in the first place.

Even if this kingdom had all types of enchantment not all of them could use it, only the gifted some could understand how to wield it.

Once they had entered the shared bed room of Tsukuomo and Miu they both got into their beds still bickering about princesses.

Finally Yogi decided to put this to a stop." How about I show the both of you _one_ spell before going to bed?"

That for sure stopped their bickering as they both looked at Yogi expectedly.

Yogi smiled before pulling the amulet from his shirt and let it hang lose around his neck as he stood in the middle of the room, he closed his eyes and concentrated.

Both Tsukuomo and Miu stayed silent knowing he needed to focus. Before they knew it a breeze had found it's way into the room even though the windows were shut and locked.

They both gave each other curious looks before suddenly a purple light outlined their entire bodies and then they found themselves feeling light as a feather. No sooner than they had realized this they began to lift upwards slowly.

Miu gaped. She was speechless to what was happening as her body lifted away from her bed. She moved her arms out to steady herself but that only caused her to turn backwards." Whoa!"

Tsukuomo looked over to her putting a finger against her lips for Miu to be silent as she pointed at Yogi. She too was lifting away from her bed but she used the wall for support unlike Miu who was still spinning out of control.

"You two can talk you know." Said Yogi opening his eyes as he lifted away from the ground. His body floated easily unlike his sisters. But that was only because he had practice." I don't need everything around me to be completely quiet, just as long as I don't get caught off guard."

"We'd be falling ,correct?" Miu stopped spinning once she grabbed the wall like Tsukuomo.

"Correct." Yogi looked around the room noticing the medium sized spacing." How about we take this outside?"

Tsukuomo pushed away from the wall coming down towards Yogi." Won't we get in trouble? It is in the middle of the night."

"Not if we don't get caught. Come on." Yogi flew forward and unlocked the window before opening it and flying out with both of them behind following.

"Whaa!" Miu flew forward before spinning uncontrollable again. Yogi grabbed her hand and stopped her.

"That's the second time Miu." Tsukuomo said flying down next to them before flipping backwards and flying high up.

Miu watched her and rolled her eyes." It's harder than it looks, Tsukuomo!"

Yogi grabbed her wrists and flew upwards." It's easy really Miu, but take your time. Just hold you arms out to steady yourself but don't rush."

Yogi let go of her and watched her follow his advise and with that she flew correctly no longer spinning uncontrollably.

Yogi took the time to look around the large garden in the back of the castle. He noticed how bright the moon looked against the clouded sky, how it's light cascaded over the rose garden and white court yard. It all looked out of a painting and Yogi hadn't really noticed it like this before.

It was beautiful which was all the more reason to keep all the bad and evil out.


	4. When Darkness Comes

Yogi stood in a three way mirror, holding his arms out so the last preparations from the maids could be made to his outfit of the day.

But something different about his attire then average was specifically more for formal wear. Today was the day when things would change. Responsibility stood on his shoulders. Atop the black shoulder pads on his long dark blue coat with golden trims on the ends of his sleeves and on the lines where the coat was supposed to be buttoned up but stood open revealing a black button up vest on top of a white button up shirt with the collar sticking out.

His pants were slim and black with black knee high boots.

Yogi closed his eyes as one of the maids did adjustments to his blonde curly hair. Having some of the curls fall over his forehead and eyes. He reopened them and looked over himself in the mirrors admiring there work but for the honest opinion from what he felt. . . it was too much.

Of course Yogi knew this day was important for himself and was meant to be taken seriously but still, he didn't like the idea of being a doll for the means to be dressed nicely _all_ the time.

But he _was_ a prince soon to be king but sometimes he felt that even a prince/king should have a say in what he would like to where each and everyday. But that wasn't a choice apparently.

But despite this he still smiled down at them." Thank you, you may leave now to attend to the festival."

They bowed and left the room.

Yogi closed his eyes, hearing the _click, click, click_ of their heals as they disappeared down the hall.

He reopened his eyes once more and sighed. Feeling anxiety take over his body.

Of course all through out growing up and going through so much training over magic and the responsibilities of being a king the weight of it all was now setting in. He had been prepared and he had thought of being prepared countless of times. Something as big as this could never slip his mind.

It was definitely not the time to be second thinking things. He was ready and just the thought of his parents looking down on him made him even more so. The kingdoms safety was now in his hands along with the royal amulet.

He pulled it out form underneath his black vest and let it fall lose over his chest. Yogi then stepped off of the stool he had been told to stand on while being dressed by the maids. He walked over to a near wall and picked up the sword that was inside of it's sheath.

He held it up at eye-level gazing apon it's dark golden floral design that played against the lights above.

Bringing his other hand up he placed it on the swords handle while the other was gripped onto the sheath. He pulled the sword out of the case, he saw his eyes reflect into it's silver as he pulled the blade further out until it was no longer inside the case.

Of course he learned how to sword fight so he wasn't clueless with this weapon. But it wasn't going to be a weapon tonight. Nothing bad would come of tonight. Only a match between himself and Samuels. The trusted royal guard who had promised him a sword fight for his coming of age and the amulets power fully excepting him.

Yogi was 19 today, finally mature enough but the ceremony for the amulets acceptance wouldn't start until midnight which was soon.

"Don't cut yourself." Spoke a familiar voice.

Yogi put the sword back into it's sheath before hooking it to his hip, he then turned around to see said man standing in the large door way. Samuels.

"It's just you," Yogi said sarcastically. Of Course over the years Samuels still looked the same from when Yogi was a little kid. He had no greying parts to his dark brown hair and his dark violate eyes never lost there vibrant color. Of course the ageing rate only went for every ten years but Samuels still looked like he was in his 20's.

Samuels scoffed crossing his arms over his chest before walking into the room." Yeah, it's just me but you still need to be on guard."

The man stopped in front of Yogi a few feet away.

Yogi looked down to the sword on his hip before bringing his eyes back up to him." Nothing's going to happen tonight, I hope at least." He spoke softly.

"At least," Sameuls repeated," This is the important day for you, and I'd like to see you go through with it without getting killed. You may have transferred those demons and Vileus back to their realm but whose to say they won't come back for revenge from all these years?"

Yogi gave him a hard look more serious then before." I know. But listen, my ceremony is at midnight which means this kingdom will be protected even more by me, I'm ready Samuels I don't need you to baby me anymore."

He stared blankly at the prince who was expected to be his king that night. The guard reluctantly nodded." Yes, my prince."

"You can honestly cut the tension with a knife in here," Yelled a voice now coming into the room.

Yogi's hard features diminished as he looked over Samuels shoulder to see both Tsukuomo and Miu walk over to them in dresses prepared for the festival.

Tsukuomo's dress was white with a corset top. The skirt was overlapped with ruffles stopping above her knees.

Miu's dress looked somewhat similar but with small different details such as the color being black, the top of the dress was a lined with black roses and the skirt wasn't as ruffled as Tsukuomo's, it to was above her knees.

"What are the two of you talking about," Miu asked as both her and Tsukuomo stopped next to them.

Yogi figured it wouldn't be a good idea to set the mood for the festival with something bad about Vileus perhaps returning for revenge so he lied." Nothing, we were only discussing our sword fight for later on."

Miu bought into it but Tsukuomo had her doubts but didn't question it." Alright, the towns people are waiting for you outside in the court for your speech, we should all get going."

"Right." Yogi followed Samuels along with his sisters through the halls of the castle until they all reached the gates where the main entry was.

"Try not to wreck your clothing prince," said one of the maids making last adjustments to his attire.

"I'll see to it that I won't, thank you." He put his arms behind his back grabbing onto his wrist as he stood up strait. Something the maids gave him a tip on while talking to the towns people of the kingdom.

His two sisters stood on either side behind him, standing tall and proper while Samuels stood to the side of Yogi.

"Open the gates!" The prince called out.

There was a loud clanking noise as the chain rollers rolled the chains to pull open the two large doors inwards.

A small of gush of wind blew at their hair as the night air blew inwards.

The doors slowly opened revealing many people in crowds cheering at them as the gates further pulled back giving the towns people a fuller view of what was left of the royal family.

They all smiled back greeting them with a wave as all four of them walked forward. The crowd formed a path as they walked in between them still waving at the cheering people.

Yogi looked up and saw cut up ribbons and streamers flying into the air as colorful fireworks went off into the clear dark skies. Both Tsukuomo and Miu stood in awe at the colors and sparkles that seemed to dance against the moonlights rays.

The castle itself seemed to glow a bright gold against the night sky.

Yogi brought his eyes to the big clock in the middle of the castle. It was nearing midnight which meant he needed his speech to be done with in a few minutes.

Samuels lead them through the crowd until they reached a stone stair case that lead up to where Yogi would be coronated.

They all walked up the stairs until they reached the top. Both Tsukuomo and Miu stood to the side continuing to wave at the crowd with smiles on their faces.

Samuels stood in position where other guards circled around the princesses and prince.

After a while Yogi quieted the crowd so he could speak. He took a step back staring out over the many people that came to his coronation, an overwhelming feeling of gratitude went through his thoughts for the people who looked up to him just like they had done with his mother and father.

"It's been ten years," Yogi spoke loud and stern as he slowly continued to look at the many people watching him." Ten years since both the king and queen have been taken from not only you but me and my sisters. I'm sure if they were here now they'd be very proud of me and how hard I've worked to step in for them in protecting all of you. You've all been perfect, there's no other kingdom I would ask for beside all of you. I humbly thank all of you for coming this evening for my coronation and the full awakening of the royal amulet giving me it's full powers. I'm ready and I hope you all are ready to except me being your king and protector."

The crowd cheered loudly as soon as he had said those words causing him to smile. He looked towards the clock and it was time, midnight had struck.

Yogi took the amulet from around his neck like he had learned with Samuels about the amulets history on how to use it during this event. He held it up to the sky looking up with it.

Both Tsukuomo and Miu looked at him in awe as a golden light brightened his body. As seconds passed the light only grew brighter.

"Congratulations brother," Tsukoumo whispered with a small smile on her lips as she blocked the light from her eyes as did everyone else.

Yogi closed his eyes as the bright light intensified. Everything become covered in a bright light and he could no longer see his sisters or the crowd. Yogi brought his eyes back up as he felt the amulet in his hand get extremely warm— but it wasn't any heat he couldn't handle since he was apart of the sun kingdom.

An orange smokey mist slowly fanned down his arm before reaching his heart where it entered his body. He closed his eyes feeling the intensity of the amulets power course through every muscle and vein through his entire body. He snapped his eyes open. They were glowing a dark violate once more.

The light around him died down and the orange smokey mist disappeared and his eyes slowly went to there normal shade.

He took a breath before looking at the amulet in his hand. It was all over and the power was now fully his. he smiled and hung the amulet over his neck once again. His body felt heavy but it wasn't an unsettling feeling, it was more of a enjoyable one.

But once he looked over the crowd he noticed they were all frozen. Frozen and staring up at him in fear.

Yogi frowned looking over the crowd. They all weren't moving and as he looked closer they were all shadowed as if covered by darkness.

"What the?" Was the only thing that passed his lips I a hushed whisper.

Yogi swiftly turned around as he heard Tsukuomo and Miu scream as a dark shadowed figure grabbed them.

"They're back, Yogi," Tskuomo screamed in panic," Vileus and his men, they are here for you!"

Yogi acted quickly.

raising his hand to the dark figure he quickly shot it with a blast of light. He watched it dissolve into dust letting go of his sisters as they ran over to him.

"What happened," He asked as he turned towards Samuels who was frozen in darkness as well all the guards that had been standing around them had been shadowed and stood stiffly in place. From what Yogi could see it looked as if they were ready to attack.

"The henchmen attacked us when you were getting your powers," Miu answered as Yogi lead them down the stone steps.

They all ran for the castle that still had it's gates open. Yogi took one look behind him and saw the towns people transform into what looked like dark beast from the realm Yogi had sent Vileus back to. dark trolls with beastly red eyes glaring into his own as they slowly walked towards them.

So this was his doing, The demon was back for revenge just like Samuels had said he would.

At a time like this, it had been unexpected. But Yogi had had a bad feeling ever since last night but he had road it off as just being nothing. He hadn't expected it to be warning him of something like this.

Yogi turned back around as they ran into the castle he quickly ordered guards to close the gates as they did.

Gaurds immiediatly saw what was happening outside and rushed to close the gates.

But despite this the trolls banged hard against the doors. Yogi knew that wouldn't hold them off for long, but for now he needed to get his sisters to safety.

"Follow me." He ordered them both as they all ran down the main hall.

Yogi ordered more guards to fight off the trolls if they made it through the doors. Yogi Tsukuomo and Miu down another hall soon coming to a golden door with an engraved lock on it. He felt like his mother in this situation. Like it all was replaying itself again from all those years ago.

Yogi was about to place his hand on the door but he heard boots clicking against the marble floors coming towards them.

He turned around to see guards that he had ordered to fight off the trolls, they all stopped in place as they neared him.

Yogi gave them all an odd look." What do you all think you're doing here, I gave you orders to guard the gate."

"We no longer abide to your orders." They all said this in unison as if they were in some sort of trance.

Yogi quickly moved in front of Miu and Tsukuomo, taking out his sword as he glared at them all." What's going on here?"

"They're being controlled by none other than me." The voice was deep and menacing as if dipped in pure evil.

Vileus's dark figure came into view. The very man who had caused his parents deaths. Anger flooded his vision.

But all emotions of that vanished as he heard two screams from behind him and suddenly the world got darker and darker.

"You're under my spell now, prince this is the end for you," Said Vileus just as Yogi's body turned weaker by the second.

What was happening? This all shouldn't have happened. He was falling and now he was on his knees daring to fall into darkness.

One cold touch from the devil above him and lights were out.

Yogi heard screaming. They were familiar and suddenly he knew it had to be coming from Tsukuomo and Miu.

He immediately snapped his eyes open.

He was in some sort of castle. But this wasn't the home they had lived in since birth it was so much more different. It was so dark. The structure of it all was gothic, the only sources of light were from wax candles.

Yogi quickly looked around himself he didn't know where he was but the important thing was that he needed to find his sisters and get out.

"Yogi," Called Tsukuomo who was being held by one of the many trolls he had seen before. Both her and Miu were being held back by the big creatures that were once people of their kingdom.

This was terrible, he hadn't known Vileus had an ability like this. It was so wrong and it only disgusted Yogi even more that Vileus held his sisters with his make shift henchmen.

Yogi got to his feet, he felt more lighter then before. He looked down at himself and noticed his blue coat was gone. He was still wearing the black vest and white button up shirt from before and his sword and amulet were still with him along with his knee high boots.

They had only taken his coat which was strange since the amulet was the main important thing Vileus wanted from him. There was something being planned, he just knew it.

He sighed only feeling half relieved. It was good that Vileus hadn't taken his only two weapons but from the looks of the castle Yogi realized he and his sisters were all stuck here. There was no exits or hidden crevices where they could all sneak through.

Yogi felt eyes on him. He turned around looking down the dark steps to find a crowd of trolls watching his every move with there red eyes on him.

He began to wonder how many of these innocent people that were apart of his kingdom had been turned into trolls by the dark kings evil doings?

Maybe if he used his magic on them then a possibility of breaking the spell on them would vanish and turn them to there normal selves.

Yogi raised his hand preparing to blast them but found that he couldn't. He focused his magic into his one hand but it was weaker then before.

"My magic is weaker because I'm not in my own castle," Yogi muttered in disbelief. This wasn't at all good.

"So you've figured it out then?" spoke that same deep voice Yogi loathed.

Yogi turned to see Vileus standing a few feet away from him. A dark aura placed around his figure. He felt more powerful then the last time Yogi had sensed his presence. Why was this?

Yogi put down his hand and rested it at his side before turning fully towards the dark king." You need to let my sisters go, **now.** " He spoke firmly.

Vileus ignored him.

"Your powers don't work here, I doubt a prince like you could do anything in my realm. You're apart of the sun and I'm apart of the dark, you already lose here and you might as well understand that now. The amulet is mine. I'd just hand it over."

Yogi hardened his glare as he made a move for his sword but was quickly grabbed from behind by two trolls. He was then forcefully brought down to his knees.

He clenched his jaw and glared at the king smirking down at him. He moved his arms but the trolls made no action to let him go.

Both Tsukuomo and Miu stared in horror at what would happen next." Don't let him win, he cannot take our kingdom!" Tskuomo yelled.

She was right but Vileus was right as well. Yogi's magic was in fact weak due to the change in location. The lack of light in the dark castle wasn't powering him at all which made things worse. Yogi needed to get out of this place it was way to dark for him to use magic to fight.

But he still had his sword and he defiantly was going to use that.

Vileus walked slowly over to Yogi holding up his chin to look him in the eyes." Your day of ruling will be all over, I don't plan to let the amulet slip out of my hands again, not like last time you stopped me all those years ago."

He let go of Yogi and trailed his hand down to grab the amulet but Yogi swiftly moved away fighting his arms lose from the trolls before pushing them back.

He watched them fall down the stairs as he quickly turned to Vileus, His sword was out pointing dead at the dark kings face. He gripped onto the amulet around his neck.

"Why do you want this so badly?"

Yogi knew that if Vileus were to ever get his hands on the amulet then all hell would break lose. Meaning that his kingdom would take over the entire realm they all lived in, turning even Yogi's castle into something so much more darker then it should be. So that's what he wanted, now he understood.

"You should already know that by now." The devil stared at him with dark eyes before bringing them over to his sisters.

"Your sisters might as well become apart of my army of trolls unless you give me that amulet."

"Don't!" Miu yelled, Don't worry about us, just keep the amulet safe!"

He couldn't do that to the only family he had left. He needed both.

"What'll it be," Asked Vileus, his voice deep with nothing but bad intentions. He slwly brought up a hand revealing black nails that seemed to cut into the thin air opening a portal that emitted a bright light.

"You hand it over or I'll be forced to throw you all into this portal."

Yogi glared not caring at the moment if he was serious or not. " **No.** "

Yogi saw a blur of darkness right as he was shoved to the stone ground hard." Fine! Your chances of living are up, you die NOW!"

Yogi felt a sharp pain in his lower abdomen as soon as he had stabbed his own sword through the Kings shoulder.

But Vileus didn't relent he kept a strong hold on the prince. Yogi could feel a wave of magic flow past his body to where Vileus was and from what he could see. His hand was glowing as he gripped onto the amulet weakening it's power to burn him.

Yogi gripped onto Vileus's wrist trying to pull him away, but the king who was some how stronger now.

Yogi could feel his strength failing him as Vileus continued to pull at the amulet. The portal behind him still a strong blur of light.

He felt the magic inside of him growing hotter by the minute as if reacting to Vileus's magic that was gripping against the amulet.

It was then that Yogi heard a loud snap and Vileus had quickly pulled away from him with a wicked smirk playing along his lips." Finally." He held it up only to notice half of the amulet was in between his fingers.

His eyes widened in shock and he snapped his head back down towards Yogi who had gotten to his feet gripping his bleeding stomach.

Yogi stood next to the portal as Vileus crept towards him, anger ripping off of him like fire. yogi could feel the heat of it against his skin.

"Vileus held out his hand trying to snatch the other half of the crest around Yogi's neck." Hand me it." He growled as Yogi stepped back.

Yogi sheathed his sword back into it's case before slapping Vileus with the hard end of it. He faced the portal and turned towards his sisters.

He didn't want to leave them, but if he stayed then the other half of the amulet would belong to Vileus. He couldn't rescue them, there wasn't any time.

There was only one way to get out of this and he hoped that he wouldn't die doing it nor would his sisters die if he left them here.

Yogi heard stomping behind him and when he turned he saw trolls coming after him.

He turned back to his sisters, one last time." I'll come back for you, I promise!" With that said he jumped into the portal. Closing his eyes he felt his body being falling as if from a very tall height. He was being sucked through the portal.

Yogi opened his eyes for a split second and saw flashes and glimpses of bright lights and odd colorful shapes. He closed his eyes again praying that he wasn't dead already.


	5. Arcial Realm

Yogi opened his eyes slowly. He looked at his surroundings, completely unsure at what he was looking at. The world around him had a completely different and odd feeling. Things seemed off he didn't know how to explain it but he felt different in a way as if he were out of place. Maybe because he was in a whole different world now—away from his own kingdom?

Not only that but his surroundings appeared foreign to him as well.

Everything was a blue hue. Everything except the bark on the trees surrounding him, they were a regular brown. But other than that all the vegetation in the area was coated in blue, something he definitely hadn't seen before in the sun kingdom. It appeared he was in some sort of forest.

It was beautiful but still very different from what he was used to seeing.

He looked up at the sky to see stars and puffed up clouds illuminating light down to him. But from what he could see there wasn't only one moon but. . . two? He sat up quickly in surprise but cringed at the pain in his lower abdomen. He reached a hand over the fabric of his vest and felt warm moisture, he brought his hand up to see blood coating his palm. He re- clamped his hand over his wound to keep it from bleeding as much.

In the corner of his eye he had caught something moving.

His body tensed preparing to defend himself if needed but only stared in awe at a tiny creature that resembled a rabbit but it clearly wasn't that. It's eyes were beady little black dots and it's fur was dark blue and white with tiny little specks that glowed in the dark on it's back. It's ears were more pointed then round and it's teeth were small and sharp.

Yogi sat still watching it run away into another set of blue bushes. The leaves ruffled from it's quick movement causing little bugged insects to flutter their bright lit up wings into another bush. As they flew they made an odd spitting sound as if lighting a match. It sounded so realistic that he thought some one was near by possibly doing that. But he found the area to be clear of any people.

Where was he exactly? This world was strange with it's different species of animals and strange noises and. . . two moons? It was hard to tell what would pop out next for him to see. But he knew it would definitely be different. He sighed calming his nerves. He looked down to his side seeing his sword still intact. This made him focus on more important things. Thinking about what would become of his kingdom?

All the things that had suddenly gone wrong the day of his coronation wasn't supposed to turn out the way that it had. But it wasn't really a surprise. Vileus had to attack at some point and his mind had told him that the other last night. How had he possibly not guessed that something bad would happen more sooner? Yogi felt shame wash over him. Not only wasn't he prepared but his entire kingdom hadn't been prepared for the attack either. He wasn't going to lie, it had been his fault for thinking things would be fine on a day like that. He had been careless let alone irresponsible for letting the innocent people get turned into monsters and if things weren't worse he had let his sisters get taken from him, his only family that was left.

He didn't care what it took he needed to get home and save everything, it was his job destined to him ever since the amulet had been placed into his hands. He looked behind himself only to see the very portal he had gone through and had surprisingly survived.

An endless dark void stared back at him eerie as electrical currents zapped from it's opening. He was lucky that he had survived even though he felt weak at the moment but now the only important thing was to get back home. But how was he supposed to do that? He doubted the portal would let him back inside. The damn thing had sucked him through and it wasn't doing the same thing again. He had thrown a stick in but it was rejected only falling back to the ground.

Maybe because it was a one way portal?. . . Possibly.

He had never been this close or near one of these before and he began to wonder. How had Vileus accomplished such power in the first place? Or did he just have it this whole time? Just waiting and planning how to get his revenge and take the amulet when Yogi least expected it to happen. Just now remembering the amulet Yogi held it up. Only half of it dangled in front of him. He had been taught over the years to never let it fall into the wrong hands but what would happen if only half of it was stolen?

Would his kingdom completely turn into a hellish realm just like the one he had come from? Or would it happen slowly without the entire amulet being in Vileus's grasp? If so then he needed to figure out a way to save his people along with his sisters quickly. Yogi slowly got to his feet, keeping a firm hand on his wound. He turned giving one last determined look at the portal before beginning to walk in a direction completely unknown to him, figuring that he needed to find help from a person in this world who would actually understood this place a lot better than himself. There was obviously life here considering the vegetation and animals he had seen so why wouldn't there be people?

Suddenly there was a loud boom behind him snapping him from his thoughts. Yogi quickly turned around only to see a gush of wind coming his way. He braced himself feeling his feet lift away from the ground as he was shoved backwards. He landed hard on his back before rolling finally coming to a stop against a tree. Opening his eyes a groan escaped his throat as he lifted himself up in a sitting position. Leaves fell onto him. He threw them off only stopping when he felt a burning pinch on his forearm. He quickly removed the leaf to see a bug he completely hadn't seen before.

He watched it fly away from his arm buzzing loudly as blue sparks fluttered off of it's wings like a firecracker. It had left an angry red mark where it had bit him. A burning sensation was left on his arm but his attention lifted towards the portal as he saw trolls the exact ones that were in Vileus's castle jump from the portal's opening making loud booming sounds once they landed causing gushes of wind to come from their weight hitting the earth.

A total of 8 trolls came through the portal before it closed up, completely disappearing. Yogi frowned. Why were they here? He looked down at the other half of the amulet dangling from his neck. Were they after the other half?

The trolls roared viciously making him cover his ears at the horrific sound, they were scary looking but their roar was absolutely terrifying. Yogi pushed himself to his feet. If he fought them then he would risk killing people apart of his kingdom. He wasn't going to resort to that but what else could he do to protect himself? He watched as the trolls huddled around sniffing the air like hounds. it wasn't long before one turned in his direction sniffing the air it eyed him as it turned it's full body over to him alerting the others around it. They all began running over to him and despite their size they were quick as they pushed and shoved bushes and trees aside like they had been nothing.

Yogi's eyes widened. He ducked out of the way as one troll tried to hit him but only knocked down the tree instead. The prince rolled to his feet before forcing himself to run, his body still feeling weak from going through the portal either that or it had to be blood loss. The bite on his arm began to burn even more now but he ignored it the best he could focusing on moving his legs faster, he gripped the side of his stomach where his wound was. He felt more blood leak out. He clenched his teeth together at the pain but kept going.

Yogi took one look behind himself only to see that the trolls were catching up. They were running a lot faster than he was doing. The sound of their bare feet hitting the earth beneath them was loud making his heart thud in his chest from slight fear. He quickly turned back around right as he tripped over a root of a tree. He let out a small surprised yelp as he fell down a small hill rolling onto his back with a thud. He opened his eyes and quickly scrambled to his feet only to be yanked upwards by one of the trolls that grabbed onto one of his legs.

Yogi swore quietly as he looked into the dark eyes of the troll that was so close to him he could smell it's terrible breath as he hung upside down. He felt like an ant compared to their huge statures. Even though he was feeling fear at the moment Yogi didn't show it on his face. He was going to make it through this, he wasn't going to die today.

The prince closed his eyes concentrating the magic that was surprising left inside the amulet. He felt it and he knew that the magic was still there even if it was only half. He understood that most of his abilities had been taken away because of the amulet being split into half but that didn't mean he couldn't use his magic.

The troll brought it's big hand up about to grab the amulet dangling from Yogi's neck but suddenly the amulet flashed a bright light blinding the troll causing it to let go of his leg. Yogi fell down back onto the grass. He let out a pained sound, grabbing his stomach as he prepared to run away again but just as he got a few feet away from them another troll was able to knock him off his feet making him fall to the ground before his body was dragged upwards again.

Yogi scrambled to get his legs free but his actions were futile."let me go!" The troll let out a deep growl apparently it didn't like the yelling. Yogi watched it pull it's arm back into a fist as if it were about to punch him. He braced himself for the impact but suddenly things stopped and went quiet just for a moment. . . that was when Yogi felt it. The feeling of magic swirled around him as the wind picked up turning the atmosphere cooler by the second. Suddenly everything became cold. A temperature Yogi hadn't felt before. He shivered slightly as he slowly brought away his arms from his face and opened his eyes. He saw the troll in front of him had turned around to look at a tree near them, Yogi followed it's gaze slowly coming to see a dark figure standing on a tree branch looking at the troll. His face being shadowed by the leaves blocking the moonlight from his full appearance.

But the wind picked up blowing away the leaves and allowed the moonlight to shine down on the figure that looked to be a teenage boy. The boy turned around he was wearing a black long jacket that ended around his knees with a black T shirt underneath, black slim pants and combat boots. The boy's gaze caught his and all Yogi saw was piercing blue grey eyes staring back at him freezing him to his heart. He was beautiful everything around him seemed to complement his angelic face.

The boy had an expressionless look marring his features. He looked cold and distant but still that made him even more alluring. Suddenly an arrow shot out at the troll's fist that was still gripping his legs. The troll roared letting Yogi's fall to the ground. The prince got to his hands and knees his body feeling even weaker because of the cold surrounding him. He turned around to get a glimpse at another boy who had apparently shot the arrow.

He too had angelic features just like the first. But his eyes were an icy grey and his hair was the color of platinum. He was young looking as if he were in teenage years as well.

Yogi's breath began to fan around him like steam and he could see it. This was another thing he hadn't experienced before. Suddenly little white flakes fell from the sky and landed on the blue grass Yogi was on. He looked down at it in wonder. Wondering what it was, but his attention quickly was brought to a girl who had yelled a battle cry before she stuck the blade of her sword into the trolls shoulder. The troll let out roar of agony. She then pulled it out and jumped away as the troll turned into black smoke. She had killed it like it had been nothing. She looked to be 16. Her hair was black and pulled into a ponytail, she had carmel brown skin with dark grey eyes.

Yogi's eyes widened as he realized that the troll was dead which meant who ever that person was that had been turned into that monster had been killed. His breath caught in his throat at the thought. They were killing them? He had thought they were helping him. The people that belonged to his kingdom were going to be dead if this continued!

"What are you doing, stop this?!" He yelled. But despite him saying this they kept striking down the trolls without an effort as if they had handled bigger and more dangerous creatures then this before. A flurry of arrows flew in the air striking down two more trolls killing them on the spot.

The sound of a blade cutting into flesh was like an echo in his ears as he yelled for them to stop but they didn't listen. It was like they couldn't understand him. Both the silver haired boy and the girl kept fighting the trolls while the darkly dressed teenager he had seen in the tree stood and watched them with his arms crossed. The expressionless cold look on his face still evident.

 _Why is he allowing this?_ Yogi thought watching in shock as another troll was killed, it's dark ashes rising up until it disappeared with the cold wind. There was nothing he could do but just sit there and watch. The cold air around him making his body have the sensation of pins and needles poking at his skin freezing him to the spot.

One troll was left but none of them had expected it to come out of the forest and quickly try to grab at Yogi. All he could do was watch as the troll ran his way. He couldn't move a muscle but suddenly in a heart breaking moment the darkly dressed teen had jumped in front of him in blinding speed. Causing the cold air around them to shift tremendously. Yogi felt it as a gush of frigid wind blew his hair away from his face. Some of the white flakes hitting against his skin as it did, their cold sensation making him startled for a split second. He opened his eyes only to see in slow motion the boy's hood come off of his head revealing black hair, pale skin and. . .short human like elf ears.

At first Yogi thought he had mistakenly seen something but given a closer look he realized that the boy's ears were actually pointed at the top. Yogi's eyes widened further as he soon saw a skinny long blue tail with only black hair on the end of it coming from under the jacket of the teenage boy. Now that Yogi eyed all of them he realized they all had the same thing. He felt like he was dreaming but he knew that this was reality. What world had he fallen into and who were this people or hybrids that were supposedly saving his life but not listening to a word he was saying? He hadn't seen anything like this. Were they elves or lions or just plain both?

He watched the boy hold his hand up and suddenly the falling white flakes swirled around his open palm magically forming a long black rod with a silver blade at the end. A glaive had appeared in his hand before he swiftly stuck it through the trolls heart. Deeply imbedding the blade until it came out of the trolls back. The troll dispersed into black smoke, blowing away with the wind. All became quiet as the boy in front of Yogi stood his ground before making his weapon disappear back into the white flakes Yogi still didn't know the name of.

Both the girl and the silver haired boy jumped down from trees they had been standing on, landing right next to the boy with black hair. Yogi watched them intently as they all slowly turned to look down at him. The boy who had just saved his life glared at him with icy eyes that seemed to look right through him as the other two at his side stared down at him curiously.

Yogi couldn't say anything it was like his mouth was frozen shut for the moment. All he could do was stare at their odd appearances.

Just like him they didn't know what he was either. But Yogi felt like that was besides the point they had just killed his people and he felt angry that they hadn't even stopped what they were doing to even ask him what he was saying. But then he understood an idea had come to his head right after he had thought that, they didn't understand what he was saying. He was speaking Rimhakkian and they must of had an entirely different language. Of course but that still didn't dial down the anger he was feeling.

The prince felt his body being able to move again as he slowly got to his feet holding his still bleeding wound. The bite mark on his arm burned but he hid his pain. His eyes looked over all of them."Do you know where I am?" His voice came out firm. He had wanted to yell at them ask them why they had killed the trolls so ruthlessly. But he held his tongue as he looked into the blue grey eyes of the black haired boy standing in front of him. He hadn't stopped giving him the cold stare ever since he saw him up in that tree.

What was his problem? Yogi couldn't help but question inside his head.

They looked at him oddly with some what questioning looks. They hadn't understood what he said he guessed. The boy with platinum hair leaned over into the black haired boy's ear and whispered."Gareki, what do we do with him?"

They definitely didn't speak Rimahakian language but he understood their English which came across as odd to him, he had expected some unknown language but they could speak regular English. Yogi repeated what he had just said but in the language they understood. The boy named Gareki squinted his eyes at Yogi obviously not to keen on liking him and Yogi could since it. Wondering what had he done wrong to deserve such a cold glance like that?

Gareki took a step forward glaring at Yogi intensely." What are you doing in our territory?" Icy blue eyes met violate as they both stared each other down and Yogi swore he saw sharp fangs in Gareki's mouth when he had spoke. _Was he a vampire?_ Yogi thought. _What are these people?_ He had to ask himself that again just from the amazement that another race of humans were in another world such as this. ** _If_ ** they _**were** _ humans anyway.

"My name is Yogi, I'm a prince of the sun kingdom and I came from an entirely different realm from yours and all I want to do is get back to it. I need help, I'm looking for it."

Gareki looked at both the girl and the boy behind him before looking back at Yogi cautiously examining him from head to toe. Yogi could see that Gareki's eyes were more different than he had realized. He noticed the pupils were slits resembling cat eyes and apparently both the girl and the boy behind him had similar appearances."You're obviously an outsider, I'm not falling for your lies and I **won't** help you. Lord knows what kind of tricks you have up your sleeve." Gareki made a move to walk away dismissing him.

Yogi watched him take a few steps into the forests before speaking again. "Believe me, I'm not a harm to you." Just when the words had passed his lips the atmosphere around him got even colder. What was happening with the temperature changes here in this world but he soon realized that it wasn't nature doing this it was Gareki? Yogi felt his legs give way under him as he fell to one knee hugging himself from the cold eating away at his skin. But oddly enough Gareki and the two other teens didn't seem to mind the cold at all.

Gareki walked back over to the prince and kneeled on one knee before clenching Yogi's jaw with cold fingers forcing him to look up into his eyes. Yogi felt sharp nails enter the skin on his face as Gareki held him tightly.

"Listen up, human, prince, whatever your lie describes you as," He said coldly, eyes boring into Yogi's." I'm not helping you and that's that. You need to ** _leave_** and turn back to where ever you came from we don't allow outsiders near this area."

Yogi's hand dropped away from his bleeding wound on his lower abdomen. Blood droplets falling onto the white ground that had been covered by the snow." P-please. . ."

Gareki froze. He slowly brought his eyes down to the red droplets that had been absorbed into the snow. Yogi saw his mouth gape open showing a clear glimpse of the two razor sharp teeth being his fangs. It looked like he was trying to hold back as his body twitched. Finally after staring at the blood for 2 whole minutes Gareki scowled. He roughly let go of Yogi's face before standing up shoving his hands into his pockets and turned before stomping away. The cold air around them disappeared turning back into warm but Yogi's body was left with the after affects of the cold and blood loss. His body felt numb but for some reason he could feel the burning sensation even though he was anything but warm at the moment. He assumed it had to be the bite from that bug he had seen earlier and when he took a look at the bite mark on his arm he found that the redness was spreading. That was the last thing he saw before falling unconscious.

Gareki stopped not daring to turn around afraid that if he did his mind would completely turn against him. He took in a deep breath before speaking lowly." Leave him there, he's bleeding out which means he'll die soon."

"I don't know if we should leave him here, he doesn't look so good." said the girl looking down at Yogi's body.

"I don't care, let him die here. The important thing is we need to get back to the castle Avia," Gareki said turning to look at her." You know how dangerous it gets out here at night and you know what outsiders do, so don't pity him."

Avia looked back at him ignoring his last statement." Look Gareki I get it that the Outsiders killed our king but I have a feeling that this man isn't one of them."

"How would you know?" Gareki's eyes squinted curiously. Avia crossed her arms over her chest." Seth and I saw them when they attacked the castle when we were running after them with the guards." She pointed at the platinum haired boy leaning against a tree.

Gareki eyed him." Is it true?"

Seth nodded. Gareki turned back towards Avia before looking down at Yogi's unconscious body. He scowled turning away quickly. "I don't give a damn about what you think he is or isn't. I believe in one thing and I believe that he's an Outsider. Let him rot here." he turned and walked away.

Avia faced Seth. "I'm taking him into the castle."

"Even though he's bleeding," Seth asked incredulously, looking down at the prince's body." You know this won't turn out well if he makes it into the castle. . .you know this. Even you struggle not to drink his blood."

Avia eyed him." I have strong will power but enough of that. You and I will sneak him in, got it?"

Seth sighed turning to watch Gareki's back get farther and farther away as he walked away from them."To bad Gareki doesn't have stronger will power. Why do you always have to be the good girl out of all of us. Let's just leave him here."

Avia leaned down and grabbed under Yogi's shoulders." I'm not leaving him, he might be telling the truth."

Seth blew out a quick breath." Yeah, **might.** I don't trust him, I'm with Gareki on this."

"Can you just trust me on this, you always side with Gareki but never me."

He kept his arms crossed looking at her for a moment before sighing walking over to her and held up Yogi's ankles. "Fine, but this doesn't change anything of what I think."

Avia smirked." I knew you'd agree."

"Why are you so forward on helping this human anyway?"

She shrugged." He deserves a chance to live so does every one else."

Seth gave her an unsettled look." I already know this isn't going to end well.


	6. The Ice Castle

"Yogi. . . . .Yogi. . . . . .YOGI!"

Yogi felt a slap being brought to his face and he immediately snapped his eyes open sitting up strait in bed with a gasp of breath. He looked around wondering what had just hit him? But as he looked he noticed the familiar setting. The dim lighting of the moon shining through the open window revealed his bedroom. He was in the castle, back in the sun kingdom.

But how? He could have sworn he had just been in a whole different world? Had it all been a dream? Some kind of twisted nightmare to make him believe he had just lost his sisters and kingdom along with all the innocent people who lived in it? Maybe it had been some kind of magic that made him dream it all up.

But other than that what had just hit him he could have sworn he had just heard his mother's voice yelling his name and a hand slap him, which was odd but not as odd as hearing his mother talking like she was close to him. But that wasn't likely, she was dead and nothing was gong to bring her back. He searched his room, moving his eyes in every corner but no one was there. Her voice had sounded so close to his ears and he swore that he felt her presence. It had felt so real, like she had actually been there. He sighed everything around him becoming silent once more as he slid a hand against his face pushing it through his hair moving back the blonde strands. He moved a hand down to the amulet around his neck and looked down at it only to see that half of it stared back at him.

His eyebrows lifted in surprise as he held it up in full eye view. The amulet was broken in half, but how was that possible? It had all just been a dream that Vileus had taken the other half, that's what he had thought. " What the hell," Yogi whispered in bewilderment just as he felt something grab onto his leg from underneath the covers yanking him downwards.

He let out a startled yelp as he grabbed the bed post pulling himself up again but whatever it was that was holding onto him was stronger and with another yank it forced him to let go of the bed post as he was dragged underneath the covers.

He felt the strong grip on his legs pull him through what looked to be a dark hole and suddenly Yogi felt a hard surface connecting with his back as he slid against it fast. He yelled placing his hands out to grab anything that would stop him but he only grabbed onto dirt and rocks. His voice echoed into his ears as he yelled in the small enclosure continuously being pulled into darkness. Was he inside a tunnel? What the hell was happening!? Questions crossed his mind as he closed his eyes tightly.

But soon he had come to an abrupt stop as he flew out of the tunnel and landed on a hard rocky surface. The shuffling of pebbles fell from the hole he had been dragged through as he opened his eyes and looked at his surroundings. What ever had grabbed his legs had let them go and had disappeared without Yogi being able to get a glimpse of it.

Yogi looked up only to see he was in a large cave. He got to his feet dusting himself off as he continued to look around. The cave was hallow making every step he made echo against the rocky walls. He looked up at the sealing stalactites hung sharply pointing down towards him. He could only see them because of the dimly lit fire torches hanging against the walls of the cave. He slowly came to the center and stood there not sure where to go since there were no other tunnels to go through.

But suddenly everything around him began to shift into a whole new setting. All Yogi could do was watch in awe as the caves walls slowly turned into the battle ground of what had transpired 10 years ago. It was dark and the air was covered in smoke from near by fires of both the kingdom and villages. Yogi's awed looked changed into horror as he saw the people dyeing around him but he was non-existent to the world around him, which meant all he could do was stand and watch as more fires started and more royal guards fell to their deaths by the hands of Vileus's henchman.

This had all been on the night when both his parents had died that same 10 years ago. He stood there frozen as he watched it happen all over again like a realistic nightmare and for all he knew this was a nightmare. This whole thing was a dream, none of what had just happened made sense. It was clear now that he was only asleep. He had just dropped into a world completely unknown to him and here he was dreaming, not getting any closer to returning home.

He gripped onto the amulet hanging around his neck tightly." This isn't real" he muttered softly before yelling once more." THIS ISN"T REAL!"

The scene in front of him broke apart like glass shards blowing a strong wind towards him but Yogi kept his ground, bringing his hands up to block the wind from getting into his eyes but that didn't help much. He watched as everything around him turned into a blinding golden light forcing him to close his eyes. He felt a hand touch his shoulder and looked up to see his mother's face staring back at him as she floated in mid air.

"Find your way back Yogi and save our world before it's to late."

He stared wide eyed up at her glowing form she was translucent with everything behind her making him see right through her as she floated in front of him. She was a soul. Her golden hair appeared longer and floated behind her just like the golden dress she was wearing. Her skin had tiny little golden dots covering her hands and arms making her glow even more.

Yogi placed his hand over hers against his shoulder as he nodded feeling tears come to his eyes at finally getting to see her again after so many years." I will, I promise." She reached her other hand over to him to caress his cheek although she was touching him Yogi's couldn't feel anything but he knew her hand was there. What kind of dream was this that had to bring his mother into it like this? He didn't want to see her , not like this he wanted her to be here in flesh and blood not a soul.

But he was grateful that he could speak to her.

He felt her hand slipping away from his shoulder but he tried to hold onto it longer to keep her from leaving but his efforts were futile. She was slipping away and even if he held her hand it had slipped right through.

"You are stronger than you know Yogi, you won't let me down." her voice sounded distant Yogi watched her fade away as the golden light that had been behind her got bigger enveloping everything even him. He closed his eyes letting it do so.

Yogi felt a warm sensation radiate over his skin as he slowly opened his eyes seeing nothing but a bright light for a moment before his vision came back to him. The first thing he saw was a girl. The same girl he had seen last night. His surroundings were different again but it felt like reality so what had just transpired had only been a dream. He knew it. His mothers words stayed in his head never the less and he wouldn't forget them. He looked up at the girl. Her hair was pulled back in a pony tail revealing the short elf ears and soon after seeing that Yogi could see her thin blue tail flick behind her as it rested against the floor.

The continuous question of what these people were crossed his mind so many times but instead of asking he was focused on what the girl was doing to him.

Her hands were held up over him emitting a bright golden light from her palms relating to the sun as Yogi felt warmth coming from it. Her grey eyes were focused on his as he looked up at hers. Yogi sat up quickly scooting himself away eyeing her suspiciously before looking at his surroundings.

Everything was made of ice, from the walls, the floors, even the sealing which hung stalactites long and sharp, slightly terrifying if they would fall but they hung firmly to the sealing at least that what it looked like. Yogi eyed them before looking a the rest of the room. It was nothing but a boxed shape with a big door in the corner with a small cut it where bars were placed. He turned back to the girl. The bright light that had been coming from her hands was gone now and she looked at him with her hands held up defensively.

"Calm down, I'm not going to hurt you." just as she had said this the door in the corner opened to reveal the silver haired boy he had seen last night as well. He paused when he saw Yogi but then kept walking till he reached the girl.

"So he's awake about time." The boy muttered under his breath but Yogi heard him all the same.

They were both wearing something completely different from when he saw the two last night in their black hunting clothes. The boy was wearing a dark blue sleeveless vest with grey bottoms and knee high boots with an bow and arrow hanging on his back.

But the girl was wearing an armored dark blue dress, the armor was against her chest and abdomen while the dark blue fabric of her skirt stopped tightly around her mid thighs, a long peace of dark blue fabric stopped behind her knees like a small train on a dress. She also had thigh high grey stockings with ankle high boots. A sword was at her side as well. They both wore armored arm warmers on their arms as another means of protection.

In other words they looked like another form of royal guards considering the crest on their clothing, a symbol he hadn't seen before.

Yogi looked at both of them cautiously. He remembered what heartless thing they had done last night with the trolls and he wasn't trusting them unless they gave him a reason to do so." Who are the two of you?" he asked.

The girl pointed to herself." My name is Avia and this is Seth, we're both assistants for the queen."

Yogi creased his eyebrows at the last part. Queen? Was he in some sort of other kingdom?" Where am I?" he placed his hand on the amulet still hanging around his neck just to make sure it was still there but when he went for his sword he found that it was gone." What did you do to my sword—?"

"I took it," said Seth crossing his arms over his chest." It was for protective reasons."

Yogi glared at him, he wasn't liking these people so far." That doesn't give you the right to just take it. I don't trust any of you,and you just deciding to take my only weapon isn't helping it."

Seth shook his head." Well first time I helped you I knew we wouldn't be trusting you either, so we already agree one thing," he said bitterly.

Avia snapped her head up towards him, a glare on her face before she turned back towards Yogi." He may not trust you but I do, that's why we brought you here so I could patch you up. You had been bitten by a sprite beetle. If you don't know what that is. They're small blue bugs that allow you to hallucinate and have odd dreams when they bight you."

Yogi blinked at her before looking down at his arm that had been once burning but it wasn't any more, in fact she had wrapped it in bandages all the wall up to his elbow and she had done the dead to wrap his wound around his stomach and it was no longer bleeding or causing him pain. He felt a sense of gratefulness flood over him before he slowly thanked her.

She nodded with a small smile and Yogi could sense goodness in her. She really wasn't going to hurt him and he allowed himself to trust her just for the moment until proven else.

"As for where you are." She pointed out." You're in the ice castle where we live but in other words you're in the Arcial Realm, both places you shouldn't be in." Yogi frowned at her." Why do you say that?"

"When we first encountered you, you had said you were from the sun kingdom and the place you're in right now is made entirely of ice and snow— your complete opposite, I'm surprised you haven't died yet that was why I was trying to warm you up with my magic and plus Arcial Realm isn't a safe place— not for humans."

He shook his head. "I'm not a human." He watched her cock her head in curiosity before a flick her thin blue tail." Then what are you?"

"I'm a magic being." He replied simply. She pointed at his amulet." In which you use your magic out of that half amulet you have around your neck, correct?"

Yogi eyed her curiously." How did you know that?"

Avia opened her mouth to answer.

"We all saw you use it against the troll," Seth said before she could. Yogi looked at him the anger he was feeling last night coming back just by thinking about his people dying without him being able to do anything to prevent it.

"I wished all three of you hadn't stepped into that, then none of them would have died." Yogi said solemnly.

"Then you would have been dead. You would have thought to be grateful that Avia told us to help you. I knew I should have stayed back with Gareki," Seth said, having a some what aggravated tone in his voice.

Yogi glared at him." That's not the point," He turned to Avia." You both slaughtered them."

Avia shook her head slowly a confused look on her face." I don't understand, they were trolls Yogi. They will stop at nothing to get what they want but in this case they wanted to kill you. In our world trolls are known for destruction and death. They're ruthless, you would have been dead if we hadn't intervened."

Yogi shook his head." They didn't want to kill me, they only wanted this amulet around my neck. And they weren't even trolls, they were people turned into beasts by a dark lord from my realm. They had no other choice but to go after me like that because they were brain washed with his magic."

Avia stared at him in awe before getting to her feet she then reached out her hand to help him up aswell.

Yogi looked at her hand before pushing it aside getting to his feet himself." I care for my people I'm their protector, that's what I promised when I inherited this amulet, it isn't just a necklace it's so much more important that's why I need to get back home. I'm wasting my time here." Yogi moved passed her walking towards the door but was stopped by Seth who put a hand on his shoulder.

Yogi threw it off as he turned to face him." Don't try to stop me, you've done enough." he eyed him for a few seconds before turning away heading over to the door.

Seth glared at him coming up close before gripping his shoulder again but this time tighter. Yogi was about to throw his hand off again but he froze, his body becoming stiff and he felt a cold shock going through his body as ice formed on his shoulder freezing him even more.

"Seth Stop!" Avia yelled pushing him aside. He let go of Yogi watching him fall to the floor landing on his side gripping his frozen shoulder in a painful way. She kneeled down in front of Yogi and her palms glowed into that same golden light from before radiating warmth to his shoulder." I can't believe you just did that!" she turned to Seth.

"I can't believe you're helping him, he obviously has no respect. Ungrateful human!" he seethed crossing his arms over his chest. He looked down at Yogi who was still glaring up at him."Don't think that just because you're a prince in your realm doesn't mean you're one in ours, we already have one you can't possible think you can make it in this world on your own especially since you're stuck in this cell."

Yogi set his jaw before looking away from him and turned toward Avia." Why am I in a cell?" she looked at him with a regretful frown." It was my fault, when we helped you I had decided to sneak you into the castle but the guards caught us and now you have to face our queen, but she is cold just like her son, Gareki the boy you saw last night. They both think you are an outsider."

Yogi blinked at her absorbing the information. So the stunning boy he had seen last night with the cold attitude was Gareki, a prince. He would have never thought some one so cold could be that. But this world had proved him wrong. But what mostly caught his attention was the word 'outsider ' Gareki had used the same label towards him last night. "Why is that bad?" Yogi asked he felt the ice on his shoulder melting little by little.

"Outsiders are the evil ones in this world, they killed Gareki's father, the king and ever since then both Gareki and his mother, Larisa have been known to be the coldest and most unforgivable in the castle. I just hope she doesn't put you up for death."

"What do I say when I see her?" he asked.

Avia looked at him in his eyes a serious look on her face." She might go easy on you if you tell her the truth, which will make her decide to let you go free. But who knows what her decision may be. She is still hurt by her husbands death that it's effected her tremendously."

Hearing all this Yogi wasn't sure if he wanted to meet the queen. But if it meant getting out of here then he would go ahead and face her despite the fact she might kill him. The sound of the cell door opening brought Yogi out of his thoughts. He looked over to see four guards had walked in.

They were all wearing the same dark blue armored uniforms. One of them stepped forward." The queen has asked to see the outsider and calls forward Avia Arsmit and Seth Vladire."

Avia had finished unfreezing Yogi's shoulder and she stood up holding her hand out to him once again but this time Yogi grabbed it accepting her help.

She cocked her head towards the guards for him to walk out first." Go ahead." Yogi did so, he walked between the guards letting them escort him while both Avia and Seth followed behind. He heard the cell door shut behind them in the small and dark hallway. The sound vibrated against the walls making it appear endless and echoic.

The guards had lamps in their hands to brighten up the way as they passed other cells, the doors looking frozen in solid ice and snow. It was a lot more colder outside the cell then Yogi had imagined it would be, but maybe that was because Avia was no longer shining her warm light onto him. He began to see his breath again as the temperature changed. Yogi crossed his arms over his chest to keep from shivering but the cold was eating away at him and he began to feel weaker again he needed the sun. If this lasted then he would die for sure.

"Let me help," Avia said, squeezing past a guard she held her hands up and the golden light returned same did the warmth.

"Thanks." he muttered and she nodded. Yogi began to wonder why had she helped him in the first place and why she was continuing to do so? He asked her this.

"You've been through a lot I can sense it within you. I decided to help you because I pitied you. I can't see people die. . . it bothers me." She answered lowly a serious look in her eyes.

"Thank you for that, I'm honestly grateful towards you."

She nodded her head again." Indeed you are."

Yogi looked ahead seeing a stair well. He was going to make it out of this castle if it was the last thing he did. He just had too for the sake of his sisters and kingdom.


	7. Larisa- The Cold Queen

**Music choice— Ruelle- This Is The Hunt**

 **Nothing is the same.**

 **There's a new world calling my name.**

 **I can't escape this.**

 **Shadows break the dark.**

* * *

The guards ushered Yogi toward the icy stairs. He paused for a second looking down at them unsure if they would hold his weight. He may have not known much about ice and snow but he definitely knew that ice would break with a certain amount of weight added onto it.

Avia turned towards him." What are you waiting for? The queen doesn't like to be patient."

Seth sighed pushing past the guards and Yogi to stand in front of them all. " It appears the human is afraid to stand on ice. Can't you tell?"

Yogi hardened his gaze at him." I have a name so I suspect you use it." Seth looked at him before he slowly walked up close to his face, icy blue eyes meeting with bright violate. "Well what is your name, human? Because I've already gotten used to calling you that."

"The name's Yogi, don't forget it." he said lowly in a deep voice.

Seth scoffed." Whatever ' Yogi ', climb the stairs they're not going to break on you."Avia nudged him in the elbow causing Seth to look down at her." What?"

"You know he's not from here, stop being so disrespectful."

"And you need to stop being so gullible, open your eyes and see that we can't trust him," He said coldly turning away from her as he walked up the steps. She looked after him before shaking her head with a small sigh before turning to face Yogi." Let's go." she lead him up the stairs slowly with the guards following.

"Why is he like that with you?" Yogi asked staring up at Seth's back, he was far away from them out of ear shot.

She looked up at him as well before looking back at Yogi focusing her magic to keep him warm." He's my brother we have the same mother but with different fathers so don't let my brown skin tone fool you, I'm just mixed. But besides that he's just being protective."

"Some kind of protectiveness." Yogi eyed her with a side ways glance. She smiled slightly." I know he may seem like a lot to handle just from you first meeting him but he means well. I mean you did just end up in our world like last night. None of us are used to anything like this."

"I get it, but I at least wish that I'd be treated with respect. So far I've only made two people hate me, and that's your brother and Gareki I'm speaking about."

"I'm guessing since you're a prince you're not used to that feeling. Must be nice being a leader and all."

Yogi looked at her. "Trust me it isn't. The feeling overwhelms you but then again it fills you with a certainty of pride that you're leading people to do the right thing. I was supposed to be king but the ceremony was interrupted when the darkness came."

Her brows furrowed." The darkness?"

"Vileus, he's an evil dark lord from hell. He wants to take over my kingdom like he wanted to do so long ago but this amulet around my neck stopped him but now he's back for the amulet and he's got both my sisters and my people under his control. I need to get back to them so I can stop it. Or else die trying with the amount of trolls he's sending after me."

"How are you planning to?" she asked.

Yogi didn't answer her right away. He was thinking about that but truth was he didn't know how. He was literally only one man against a whole army of trolls and henchman and the dark lord himself Vilues. What could he do?

"I haven't figured it out yet, but trust me I will." he firmly said. She kept her eyes on his before she asked. " You only said your sisters were taken by him, but what about your mother and father, if you don't mind me asking?"

Yogi looked away from her to the ground." They died." a grave looked crossed her face as she turned away from him. They had all finally climbed the stairs and were now walking in a big enclosure. Yogi looked way up to see large rose stained glass windows in the color of purple and dark blue shedding down light against the white walls of the gothic designed castle. But instead of everything being black and red the walls were white with an interior design of dark blues, light purples and golds.

Crystal chandeliers hung from the sealing sparkling in the rays of light coming from the huge rose stained glass above. Yogi looked around seeing a bunch of silver designed paintings and furniture with small coffee tables. There were some ice shards hanging here and there making the castle have a certain beauty to it. Like Victorian designed but in an ice castle sort of way. But oddly enough Yogi didn't see that much ice up here except for the few shards that hung from the sealing. there was still the frigid feeling of the cold eating away at him though.

"Didn't you say this castle was made of ice and snow?" he asked Avia. She nodded. "It is but the upper floors aren't as covered in it as it is down in the dungeons."

He lifted a bemused eyebrow." I guess that makes sense?"

She smiled." Don't worry about it, it's best if a magic being like you just doesn't think about it."

"Right," Yogi muttered slowly. The guards lead them down the long wide echoic main halls of the castle, it didn't take long for them to come to the main entrance of the queen's throne room behind two large grey doors.

Yogi felt his heart in his chest pick up a slight speed as anxiety took over. What would be the outcome of this meeting? He wanted to know badly but he would need to go ahead and get it all over with to know that answer.

He took in a deep breath before sighing." Just keep calm and speak your truth," spoke Avia . Yogi could only nod not wanting to speak that moment as Seth walked to the big doors and stopped in front of them. He turned to face them.

He told the guards that he had it from there and they all went their separate ways, leaving all three of them standing there. Seth averted his eyes back to them before looking directly at Yogi." You better be prepared human and hopefully you'll show respect to the queen unlike you did to me."

Yogi resisted the urge to say something back that wasn't going to be all that pretty. He watched as Seth turned back around putting both hands on each door before pushing them open. A small gush of freezing wind hit Yogi's face as he stood there along side Avia who was continuing to provide warmth with her magic.

"You can stop." Yogi said thinking about how exhausting it must be to continue using magic. She turned to him about to protest but the serious look on his face made her shut her mouth. She nodded putting her arms down as she dug in the small pack on her hip and came out with grape sized fruits but they weren't exactly grapes they were darker then he was used to and they had a strange orange color to them.

"Take these and eat one, they'll make you be able to stand the cold, but they won't last long." she handed him five of them before standing up strait. Yogi quickly put one in his mouth and chewed before putting the rest into his pocket. They had an odd flavor one that he couldn't quite explain but it was sweet and slightly tangy.

Seth lead them inside the equally beautiful throne room. On either side of the room were solid ice pillars holding up the iced sealing. The room was big with a long row down to the single thrown that was doused in small shining ice fragments having a identical appearance to crystals. The floors showed their reflections as they walked onto it. The room was made entirely of ice. Carved into the ice were Victorian designs in floral shapes. The sealing had a circular opening to the outside world, it being made of glass reflecting the sun's light bringing it inside to brighten up the room. To the left side of the room was a door sized opening leading to another room but from where he was standing he couldn't see what was inside. Possibly just a side room where the queen resided in.

Seth lead them to the center of the room and stood next to Yogi as he called out." Queen we've brought the outsider."

Avia eyed him before whispering." He's a magic being Seth, not an outsider."

He only ignored her. She sighed again before leaning upwards standing strait again. Yogi stared strait ahead soon hearing the slow clicking of heels hitting the floor. He turned slightly to where the side room was to see a women with an hour-glass figure walk out. Her silver dress fell behind her legs like a train as she switched while walking towards her throne. She paused and turned towards Yogi. Her eyes a shining blue-grey complementing her hair that fell long curly and ink-black down her left shoulder revealing her heart shaped pale face. The silver jewelry and the shining sparkles on her dress making her look like a true queen, intimidating, clever, and intense but beautiful.

So this was Gareki's mother? He had gotten most of her features and just like his mother he was alluring.

She lowered her head not taking her cold eyes off of him. An expressionless look on her face, her red lips staying in a strait line." So this is the outsider?" Her voice was light as it echoed around the room, but had another accent to it but one Yogi didn't know.

Seth was about to speak but Avia beat him to it." No ma'queen. He is from another world from ours, different even." Queen Larisa turned her body slowly and fully towards Yogi that same expressionless look on her face." How does that not make him an outsider? Where did you find him?"

"He was in Lumines Forest last night being chased by trolls. I wanted to help even though Gareki and Seth didn't want me to."

Larisa walked over to her throne and sat down in it with her leg crossed over the other both of her hands resting on the arm wrests as she stared down at them."I hope you can realize what a mistake you could cause us Avia, you don't know what he truly is. Outsiders have a cunning trick to change appearances if wanted."

Avia took a quick step forward." I understand that ma'queen but Yogi isn't one of them. He'll tell you his story of how he ended up here."

"I have no wish to listen to such a story of lies. let this be over with and Avia the next time you bring an outsider here you'll be paying in punishment."

Larisa got up from her throne just as Avia made a move to stop her. "But Larisa!"

She quickly turned around and raised her hand a electrical blast left her palm heading strait for Avia but Yogi stepped in front of her and unleashed his shield from the amulet acting quickly to deflect the cold magic that was supposed to hit Avia. The blast hit against one of the pillars before hitting Seth in the back making him jerk foreword. A stunned look was on his face as his body was covered in a thick sheet of ice starting from his back working it's way to the front. He stood there like a frozen statue.

Avia gasped behind him as Yogi stood his ground continuing to hold the amulet outwards before slowly bringing it back down to hang over his neck once more. Larisa stared at him with a surprised glare. " What in the heavens did you bring into this castle Avia!" she snapped turning back to her throne before quickly stepping down the small steps towards them in a quick walk.

Yogi stayed in front of her with a hard look on his face." I'm not some kind of monster that's come to this world to act on destruction. I'm a prince," he said firmly. The queen stopped right in front of him. They were the same height. "How dare you have the audacity to deflect my magic— you have some nerve."

Avia left Yogi's back to run over to her brother. A horrific expression on her face as she touched the ice he was enclosed in. She focused that same bright golden light that she had used on Yogi from her palms trying to burn away the ice but nothing happened. Her eyes widened as she turned to Larisa. " Why would you do this? Unfreeze him, this instant!"

Larisa turned to her an angry look on her face." My dear this is all your fault, you know how to address me not by my name you have no respect. Your stupidity has made you weak to see the rules we have here." she turned back to Yogi before adding: " And I can see you're naïve to see what is standing right in front of me now."

Avia set her jaw as she lunged for the queen. But Yogi held her back." Stop Avia—"

"No!" she yelled pushing against Yogi pointing at the queen. "Seth's my only family left you can't just leave him like this!" her eyes began to tear up.

Larisa put her hands on her hips." You do understand that I can only turn things into ice not change them back. This was brought apon by your stupidity. This wouldn't have happened if you simple hadn't saved this outsider. Now would it?" she said dangerously.

Avia screamed reaching for the queen again but Yogi kept his arms around her stopping her before she did anything she'd regret.

There was a loud bang as both the big double doors to the throne room barged open letting in that same frigid wind Yogi had felt in the forest. Snow flakes flew into the room landing on his skin before melting away. All three of them turned to the entrance to see Gareki with his arms outstretched from opening the doors, an angry look on his face. He put his arms down looking directly at Yogi with those cold slit eyes that froze him to the spot.

He was dressed formally in a black open blazer revealing a white button up shirt, a bow tie with long laces. Black slim leather pants with black ankle high boots. He was like a gothic model as he stepped forwards time seeming to slow as the wind blew around him, moving strands of his hair away from his beautiful face.

The doors shut behind him as he stopped a distance away from the center of the room where they were. He took his eyes away from Yogi's to look at Seth's frozen form. An expressionless look on his face as he turned towards Avia then his mother, scanning the situation in front of him." What the hell is this?" He finally asked.

"Nothing but a huge mistake caused by this outsider." Larisa crossed her arms over her chest.

Gareki's cold eyes found Yogi's again." I knew there was going to be nothing but trouble bringing you here, so I'd advise you to let go of Avia. Now."

Yogi did so quickly as if his body had a mind of it's own. He was about to speak claiming that he hadn't done anything as Gareki walked over to Seth but given a cold look and the words" Don't speak to me" had his mouth shut again.

"Gareki, he didn't do anything why do you all treat him like—" Avia was cut off by Larisa.

"He is an outsider, Avia. I don't trust him not for any reasons you give me to. Not after what those outsiders have done to my family. That is my final decision, take him away back to the dungeons. And since his people had the nerve to slaughter my husband then by nightfall— off with his head. As for you Avia I'll let you slide your punishment for all that you've caused today but don't expect it to never come for you. Now off with you I have no longer wish to see you here anymore."

"You can't kill Yogi!" she yelled angrily, not leaving the room.

Lasira snapped her eyes towards her." I can and I will, no more questioning what I plan to do or else you'll be missing your head as well."

"But what about my brother!?" she raised a hand towards Seth." You can't just leave him this way."

Gareki walked around the ice statue of Seth looking over it before sighing." My mother doesn't have the ability to unfreeze him, but I do." He raised his hands up to the ice not touching it but his hands held over it. He closed his eyes his hands soon being covered in a small layer of ice as a blue light came from his palms. An invisible force left his palms causing a crack on the ice. That same invisible force continued until the ice was cracked all over soon breaking from the top. Ice fell from Seth's body falling to the floor in loud crashes Seth gasped for breath falling to his knees as he coughed.

The light in Gareki's hands disappeared as he opened his slit eyes. He looked towards Avia." I'm sorry but your so called human friend has to be taken away now." As if on cue guards burst into the room grabbing onto Yogi by the arms putting cuffs on his wrists as they forcefully pulled him away. He fought against them." You didn't listen to what I had to say, what kind of queen are you?!" he yelled.

Larisa ignored him as she stood there hands on her hips as her and Gareki stared after him. She looked towards Avia." Go with the guards and make sure you lock him away." she turned toward Seth." As for you, prepare the guillotine we're having a ceremony tonight at our first kill of an outsider."

Seth looked up at her confused but telling by the distraught look on Avia's face he could tell that Yogi was going to die that night. He nodded before getting to his feet passing his sister as he left the room.

Avia clenched her fist looking at Gareki." Are you going to let this happen without actually hearing what he has to say?"

He crossed his arms over his chest giving her a hard look." I don't trust him, that's that." She pursed her lips together tightly to keep from yelling a curse, shacking her head before turning and ran out of the throne room slamming the door behind her.

Gareki didn't even know why he had bothered to save the human when the troll wanted to attack. He honestly should have let him die then and there.


	8. Escape Part 1

**Music choice—Ruelle— Live Like Legends**

 **When It Rains, It Pours.**

 **There Will Be Blood In The Water.**

 **Cold To The Core.**

 **Faith Falls Hard On Our Shoulders.**

* * *

Yogi was forcefully pulled down the stairs leading back down to the dungeons. He fought against the guards that had a strong hold on him. But they didn't let him go. He did almost everything to get them to let go of him but they were strong especially since all four of them were holding and pushing him forward further into the darkness of the dungeon's hall.

Blonde strands of hair fell in his face as he struggled. This wasn't fair. What queen was she to not listen to a single word he had to say. She had only assumed without questioning. Avia's words were correct, their queen was taken over by hatred. It fed off of her like some kind of disease and she had given that same disease to her son Gareki. They were both so consumed by their hatred they couldn't see that he wasn't what they had assumed he was. An outsider.

Even if they thought he was one of those killers he couldn't stay here and die. He wouldn't allow them to kill him. Not when he had a mission to accomplish. Yogi focused his thoughts, summoning his magic. It was difficult considering the guards kept pulling on him, further distracting him form concentrating, but despite that he focused his mind harder on summoning up his magic even if it was a little bit.

"Lets go!" one yelled in his ear before pushing him forward again. A slight feeling of anger sparked up inside of him fueling up his magic more before he forcefully turned around towards the guard who had yelled at him. He quickly brought his hand up and blew the man away with a blast of purple light. The guard fell to the floor and Yogi felt stupid for only using it on him. It had been a tiny blast but he still could have directed it around to hit all of them.

A quick punch was brought to his face before he fell on the cold ground with a thud. He felt arms finding his once more before they yanked him to his feet before throwing him into another cell. A guard grabbed the door about to shut it but a voice interrupted him.

"Stop!" yelled a female voice. Quick foot steps ran down the hall before stopping in front of the cell Yogi was in. Avia turned and looked down at Yogi's face only to see a red line on his cheek where he had been cut by the guard's armor. She paused staring at him in surprise before taking a step towards him but one of the guards held an arm up." I can't let you pass."

Avia turned away from Yogi looking at the guard instead, gripped his arm glaring at him." The queen gave me a specific order to make sure he's locked away, and that's what I'm going to do, step aside." The guard didn't budge keeping his eyes on hers." He used magic on us, he'll do the same to you if you get close." Avia pushed his arm down before walking forward." He won't do it to me, I can handle it. It would be best if all of you leave."

The guard moved his mouth to speak again but Avia beat him to it." Please leave, I'm the one who's commander of the guards in this castle and that means I'm giving you a direct order Bestro, so stop questioning me." her voice was firm.

He stared at her for a few seconds before nodding once and told the other guards to back away. foot steps were heard as Bestro and the rest of the guards walked down the hall. Avia watched them all leave before she turned back down to look at Yogi.

She sighed." Are you okay? I didn't think they would be so forceful with you." Yogi looked up at her couldn't help but to feel bitter about his current situation." Of course I'm not okay, if you haven't realized I'm about to get my head chopped off tonight. How is that any where near okay?"

She bit her lip." I'm really sorry about this, it's all my fault. If I hadn't off gotten you caught then none of this would be happening."

"Exactly," he said, wiping the blood that began to drip from the cut on his cheek." It would have been better if you hadn't helped me at all. Most of your kingdom already thinks I'm nothing but an outsider planning to kill who ever I get close to in this place, all of this is fucked and I wonder why you haven't thought the same like they have, you may have said that I deserved a chance to live but really why don't you think like the rest of them?"

Avia glimpsed at the blood on the back of his thumb before blinking and turning away. She leaned against the wall and crossed her arms." You have every right to blame me because I already get the fact that this is my fault. But the reason I don't think you're an outsider is because you don't act cold, you're warm definitely not like them at all. Of course outsiders have tried to trick us in the past and we've fallen for their tricks and lies but I believe you're not one of them, you're not lying to me. Outsiders can shape shift sure. . .but you're just different, I can just tell you're telling me the truth by every word you say."

Yogi eyed her before shaking his head. "Even if this is your fault I've been taught to forgive no matter what the person has done and I'm going to follow it. You've done nothing but help me since I've been here so I'll thank you for that."

"I don't think I should take your forgiveness but I appreciate your gratitude." she offered. Yogi got to his feet and looked around his new cell. It looked some what the same like his last one but the stalactites weren't as sharp on the sealing and the room was a bit more smaller. He looked over to a wall and saw a square shaped opening a small one at that, there were bars keeping him from reaching out to the outside world. Yogi walked over to it and looked out to see the sun was setting over the foggy snow mountains, he could barely see it over the fog but just from the small light he could tell it was there.

So this world did have a sun, that was good to know. He wished he wasn't in this cell staring at it. Maybe if he could escape? But he knew that would be risky considering the amount of guards they had in this place, and more importantly he didn't know where the exit was. How was he going to escape not knowing where he was going? Even if he did ask Avia to help him she was only one person. She may have gotten him stuck in this place but he didn't want anything bad to happen to her if she got caught helping him. Then they would both be getting their heads cut off.

He needed a plan. Something that wouldn't get him killed. Yogi stared at the tall snowy mountains that seemed to further trap him in this snowy and freezing world around him, he looked at the sun behind the fog just then his head suddenly began to ache slightly. He brought up his right hand and placed his finger tips on his temple. But doing this didn't help in any way to stop the steady ache that increased inside his head.

Avia noticed his unease. Stepping away from the wall she asked if he was okay? He shook his head slowly not being able to speak, it was as if his voice was trapped inside his throat. He turned away from the window before sliding his back down against the wall until he reached a sitting position placing his entire hand on his forehead now. He heard her footsteps coming closer to him before she said his name over and over again but her voice was becoming blocked out for some reason.

Suddenly half the amulet around his neck began to glow. It floated in front of his eyes before a white light illuminated in front of him. Making him blind for just a moment. His eyes widened as flashes came into his head of trolls and henchman from Vileus's realm broke through the ice castle gate and barged into the main halls breaking everything in their path as they searched for him. Destruction was the only thing he saw before the visions disappeared and he was brought back to reality.

He blinked a few times, his vision being blurred because of the bright light, the amulet fell back down against his chest. His vison slowly came back to him and he saw Avia looking at him with concern.

"What happened to yo—"

Yogi got to his feet quickly looking surprised by what he had just seen." Earlier when we were speaking do you remember what you said to me about trolls?"

Avia got to her feet looking at him confused." I do, but why?"

"I need a reminder," he said quickly.

"Uh Okay. They're giant creatures who'll stop at nothing for what they want leaving death and destruction in their path. They're ruthless."

"That's right." Yogi muttered in realization looking at the ground in thought before bringing his eyes back up to hers." You need to help me get out of this castle quick if you don't want this place to be destroyed." She took a step back looking stunned by his words." What are you talking about?"

"I had a vision that this castle is going to be overrun by trolls and henchman from the dark realm, Vileus like I've told you about. The trolls already know my scent and since I'm here they'll come looking for me and destroy this place. It won't help if I'm dead with my head chopped off because that'll only make my scent stronger because of my blood."

She looked at me oddly." You sure about this, when are they coming?"

"Tonight," he said firmly. It's a vision and I know it's real, it has to be. I need to return back to my world before they get here."

The stunned look left her face being replaced with a serious one." Okay, I know someone that can help you but you won't like it. . .and neither will he."

"Who," he asked.

"Gareki." she said flatly. Yogi looked at her as if she were crazy. "No, anyone but him."

"He's the only one who knows how to get you to the realm gates," she insisted." What is that," he asked her.

"It's a place where portals are, kind of like the one you passed through to get here but one of them should be able to take you back to your own home. Gareki's been there before, he'll help you."

"No he won't." Yogi shook his head." He'll kill me the moment he sees me."

"Not after I tell him what you told me, he'll help you Yogi believe me, Gareki wouldn't want danger to come over his home especially one that could kill his mother, he already lost his father he doesn't want to lose her too."

She had a point but Yogi couldn't help the uneasy feeling he felt about being near the prince but he finally agreed in order to get out of this castle and finally begin his journey back to his own home. He watched Avia walk out of the cell before shutting and locking the door she peaked through the small opening." I'll go get him, we'll come up with a plan to get you out of here."

Yogi nodded hearing her foot steps leave becoming farther and farther away as she ran down the hall. He leaned against the wall and slide down until he reached the ground, he turned towards the opening to the outside world. The sun was going down way quicker in this world then what he was used to. But suddenly his thoughts brought him to Gareki.

Gareki had the attitude that he didn't have, he was opposite. He was cold, mysterious , intimidating, and slightly scary. But if he knew the way for him to get back home then Yogi would face him despite the hatred Gareki clearly had for him.


	9. Escape Part 2

**GothinBlack Note- There's going to be another chapter today but it's going to be another half of this one because this chapter ended up being longer than expected but enjoy.**

 **Music choice—Ruelle—Monsters**

 **You Got No Place To Hide.**

 **And I'm Feeling Like A Villian Got A hunger Inside.**

 **One Look In My Eyes.**

 **And You're Running Cause I'm Coming Gonna Eat You Alive.**

* * *

Avia ran down the halls, the heels of her boots clicking against the frozen surface of the floors beneath her. She stopped to look out of the clear ice window to the side of her. The sun was setting faster now, it wouldn't be long before the ceremony for Yogi's head to be chopped off would start. Most of the people in the castle had already gone out to the court yard to prepare and watch the event.

"Where is he," she muttered under her breath before continuing down the halls, ignoring the guards that looked at her oddly for running franticly like some paranoid little girl. She had searched almost all over the castle looking for Gareki, she needed to hurry the clock was ticking and Yogi didn't have much more time to live. She turned down another hall only to see Gareki walking towards his bed room, his back to her. Finally she thought.

She stopped immediately relief washing over her before she speed walked down the hallway." Gareki?"

He stopped and slowly turned to her a blank look on his face, she was used to the look since the only thing he ever did was glare, scowl or give no expression at all. She didn't remember him ever smiling. Avia caught up to him before speaking." I need to have a serious word with you."

He shook his head and rolled his eyes before walking again." If it's about that outsider then I don't want to hear it, he's dying tonight and I'm not changing my mind on it— neither is my mother, the decision is made, so you're just going to need to step aside and let it happen."

She walked along side him having to walk fast because of his fast stride. She ignored his heartless words before speaking again." But Gareki you need to hear this, it's important." He looked down at her from the corner of his eye before looking ahead again." I already told you, if it's about that human then don't speak."

She bit her lip in frustration before stopping grabbing a hold of his shoulder to stop him as well." It isn't." she lied, blurting it out without thinking. Gareki eyed her side ways before sighing and crossing his arms over his chest before stepping in front of her closely. His eyes appeared a contrasted blue in the white light that came from above making them look intense." Are you lying to me?" his voice came out plain but demanding.

Her mouth slightly hug open being speechless as she couldn't take her eyes away from his but she fought to look away from his blue-grey iris's. "Look at me." he ordered. Avia snapped her head back up towards his right on command." Now I'm going to ask you this again. . . are you lying to me?" he didn't blink as his eyes bore into her own. Avia was suddenly taken over by the strong urge to tell the truth.

"Yes, I am!" she finally blurted with difficulty. It wasn't a good thing to lie to the royalty and she knew it but she hadn't thought about it considering she was to focused on trying to warn him about what Yogi said to her. She prepared to get punished cringing slightly as the words passed her lips. But nothing painful came towards her nor did Gareki say anything about punishment.

He stared at her before sighing again." I'm going to act like I didn't hear that, you better be lucky you're one of the closer people to me or else I would have seriously smacked or punished you." he turned away from her before continuing down the hall.

She sighed in half relief before stepping in front of him forcing him to stop again." Please just listen what I'm about to say you'll definitely want hear."

The blank look stayed on his face only he lifted an eyebrow." Okay, fine." she nodded before pulling him into his room shutting the door behind her she then walked over to him stopped a couple feet away." Trolls are coming here tonight along with a bunch of other enemies, they're coming for Yogi."

"You mean the outsider," he corrected.

"He's not an outsider Gareki, he's a person like we all are only he's different, he has his own kingdom to get back to but if he stays here any longer then his enemies will be right onto us and they will stop at nothing to get their hands on him." Gareki walked past her." Then we'll just kill him, the ceremony is almost starting, he'll be dead before they even get here."

"Gareki, you don't understand, they have his scent and if he dies then his scent will be even more stronger because of his blood. And there's bound to be blood shed tonight since his head is being chopped off right in front of us! They'll be lead right to us if we let that happen. You know trolls just like I do, they'll come for him and demolish everything they see and you know what'll happen. . .people will die it might even be your mo—"

"Stop talking now," he interrupted angrily. He turned to face her a grave look on his face." Don't **ever** bring up death to my mother again or else real consequences will be coming your way and I mean it." his fangs flared along with his slit eyes.

"Sorry," she said in a low voice." But everything I'm telling you is true, they're supposed to be here tonight."

Gareki stared at her for a moment before shaking his head." If what you say is true then fine, I'll help your little human friend but only out of the dungeons and that's it, and for your sake and his this better not be some trick just to get him out." he made a move to walk away but she stopped him quickly, yet again. " Wait, I need you to help him find the realm gates, it's the only way to get him out of this world back into his own."

"I haven't been there in a while, you know this." he took off the black blazer he was wearing before throwing off the bow tie as well onto his bed.

"I do, but I had to tell Yogi you knew where it was." he looked at her before rolling his eyes." I'll help him but I'll need you to go find Seth and tell him everything you told me. Make him cause a distraction for the ceremony and tell him it's an order from me, he'll definitely do it knowing that. Mean while I'll go help your human friend by first getting his damn sword back. You meet me by the main gate so you can open it, okay?"

She nodded before quickly leaving the room shutting the door behind her as she did. Gareki couldn't help but roll his eyes again at the troublesome situation. He made his way towards his closet, it was time to discard the prince outfit back into something way more comfortable. He unbuttoned the white shirt before throwing it on his bed and replaced it with black fitted jeans, combat boots and a black sleeveless button up shirt revealing the similar black tribal tattoos on both of his shoulders stopping all the way down to his elbows.

It was best if he wore all black to hide in the shadows when sneaking around the castle, it would be more successful. He made his way out of his room shutting the door behind him before looking both ways for guards but didn't find any. He decided to walk un-stealthy for now as he walked down the long halls of the castle.

Guards passed him on his trip to the weaponry room, but they paid him no mind. But getting inside the weaponry room was going to be a challenge even if he was a prince. He needed to make sure no one saw him. He walked down the stairs leading to the lower floors. He heard voices of guards as their armor made slight noises indicating they were coming his way.

 _Shit_. Gareki thought as he quickly jumped onto the railing of the stairs before dropping down but not before grabbing onto the lower railing so he wouldn't fall neither would the guards see his fingers gripping onto it. Their voices were louder now as they came closer and eventually passed down the steps before heading in a separate direction which wasn't the way he was headed luckily.

He pulled himself up without difficulty back over the railing and onto the stairs before he headed down another hall. The weaponry room was just down the hall but another crowd of voices made his ears twitch. He looked up at the sealing before jumping up using his magic to stick to the surface as the voices made their way down the hall he was currently in. He looked down at them as they walked into the weaponry room. Guards of course went inside to fix up their swords or to have a good talk while they were off duty.

There was two ways to past them, he could wait for them to step out of the room or he could use his magic on them. Both things he didn't want to do but time was ticking and the guards weren't coming out any time soon so the decision was already made weather he liked it or not. He dropped down from the sealing landing in a crouch with a hand placed in front of him before standing up, his tail swaying behind him as he walked into the room.

Guards looked at him with questioning glances and soon the room went quiet as he caught all of their attention. Gareki raised one hand up in front of him concentrating. "Freeze, all of you." a cold snowy wind came from behind him as it headed their way freezing them within seconds. They all had surprised or confused looks on their faces as they stood in frozen statues.

Gareki dropped his hand back down to his side before making his way over to the wall of weapons. he remembered exactly what that human's sword looked like when he saw him in Lumines Forest so it wasn't hard to identify it with all the other weapons hanging around it.

Gareki quickly grabbed it knowing that his magic wasn't going to last long when freezing people considering he hadn't exactly perfected the skill yet unlike his mother. He placed the sword in the holder on his hip before running out of the room. He made sure no one was in the area before running up the stairs.

But right as he came up the stairs he paused immediately once he saw his mother walking fast his way with guards behind her." What do you think you are doing." she yelled.

Gareki stood there half confused half fearing that he had been caught." What are you talking about?"

She came closer." Seth told me what your plan was, you're helping the outsider aren't you?" she was angry which wasn't a surprise. Gareki cursed inside his head before making a break for it down the hall towards the dungeons. He was some what far from them since they were on the other side of the castle but he could make it if he ran. Behind him he heard his mother yell after him to stop but he didn't.

He was defiantly going to be punished for this later but that didn't matter at the moment. He heard the armor of guards chasing after him as he ran down the long halls." Dammit Seth!" he cursed picking up his speed. He looked behind him to see ten guards running after him before he turned back around.

"We cannot let you help him!" one guard yelled after him, he held up his sword before striking an ice dart right in front of Gareki's feet that nearly tripped him but he jumped over it at the last minute before doing a forward roll coming to a crouched position facing them with his hand outstretched. A blast of ice came out of his palm hitting the two guards down but before Gareki could make another hit another guard aimed an ice dart towards him.

Gareki quickly dodged before getting back up to his feet and running. If Seth had told his mother of what he was planning then he wondered if Avia had been caught as well. That would be bad considering she was his only way out of this place once he saved the outsider. He began to think that this was completely stupid. What was he thinking helping him in the first place? There was no proof that enemies would be coming after him, but even when he thought this the words that Avia had told him about his mother dying as well as the castle being destroyed came into his head.

What if his mother really did die because of enemies coming here? He needed to stop questioning things and just believe it. Who knows something bad might actually happen and he needed to get that human out of here before they did.

Gareki turned towards another hallway his boots sliding against the ice as he turned before heading down the hall. The guards followed him still continuing to throw darts at him. That was it he had had enough of this. He looked up to the wall next to him before bringing his hands to it and climbing up it quickly using the same magic to stick to the walls as he ran against it.

The guards looked up at him in surprise before chasing after him once more. The wall ended turning towards another hall. That was the cue for him to jump down. Gareki brought his feet together before leaping off the wall he spun slowly in mid air bringing his arm over his chest before lashing it out throwing a flurry of ice darts down in front of the guards not hitting them but they came close. the darts imbedded themselves into the ice deeply, he landed on his feet before he brought both of his arms up in front of him causing the ice darts to expand bigger. They rose up from the ground in sharp jagged shapes blocking the guards from chasing him. Of course there was another way to get around it but they would need to go the long way which was all apart of the plan.

Gareki turned and continued running down the hall. After a whole ten minutes he was finally near the stairwell leading down to the dungeons. He made his way down the stairs only to see the foggy dark halls of the dungeons. Cold air blew past him in a slow breeze, it was eerie silent down here. Gareki looked to his left to see a shelf of lamps he picked one up and flicked it. He brought it up and looked around cautiously.

It wad foggy down here so anyone could be hiding. He began to walk down the small hall. He looked in every cell until he came to the last five. He paused abruptly as a cent clouded his nose. The slit's in his eyes became slightly bigger as the smell got stronger.

Gareki clenched his jaw tightly covering his nose trying not to lose control over himself. He could hear the human's heart beat thud in his ears at a slow rate as he came closer to the first of the five cells that were left. He came to the cell that Yogi was in before he grabbed onto the door handle freezing it further than it already was he gripped it slightly causing it to break. The pieces fell to the ground letting the door slowly crack open.

Yogi looked up at Gareki in surprise." So you actually did come to save me."

Gareki glared down at him seeing the red cut on his cheek before looking away swallowing hard as the smell of blood further came into his nose." Don't get ahead of yourself, I only came here to get your ass out of my castle since you're a magnet for trouble." he corrected coldly. He gripped onto the sword in his holder before throwing it down to Yogi. "Let's go." Gareki stepped back out of the cell.

Yogi grabbed onto his sword before following Gareki. They only made it to the upper floor before guards stepped in front of their path. Gareki looked over all of them before his eye caught Avia being held back from behind by a guard.

"Some commander you turned out to be," said Bestro who was holding her wrists tightly. His mother stood in front of them all with her arms folded over her chest.

"I'm very disappointed in you Gareki, you dare help this outsider for all that he's done to us?!"

Yogi glanced at Gareki who had an expressionless face staring strait ahead but his fists were clenched. _I guess this was a form of emotion he did show_. Yogi thought. Gareki took a step forward." I'm only trying to get ride of him, that's all."

She shook her head." You wouldn't have striked against your own people." Gareki's eyes widened slightly.

She stepped forward." That's right, I saw what you did to those guards in the weaponry room, you know it's forbidden to fight against your own people." she paused to look at Yogi before looking back at her son." I guess it's clear you'd rather be with the outsiders despite what they've done to your father."

Gareki clenched his jaw giving her a hard look." That's not true, I despise them just as much as you do."

A some what hurt look came over he features as she shook her head." I'm sorry, but everything up until now proves other wise. You broke our rules and I'm afraid you'll need to be banished for it. I can't let this slid even if you are my son." she turned away looking at the guards." Get him out of my sight!" Shock came over Gareki in an instant as all the guard pointed their swords at him preparing to shoot ice darts. Gareki couldn't believe his eyes he was speechless.

They all prepared to fire all the while Avia was struggling against Besrto tight grip on her wrists." No!" she screamed. Everything went in slow motion as they began to shoot at Gareki and Yogi. But suddenly Seth landed in front of them forming an ice shield causing the darts hit against it.

"What?" Bestro gasped being distracted. Avia found his foot and stomped on it hard forcing his hands to let go of her. She pulled out her sword and ran over to Seth, Gareki, and Yogi behind the shield." We need to move, now!"

"Already ahead of you," Seth said beginning to forcefully push Gareki forward as they all ran down the hall. The guards ran after them in a big group. Yogi looked behind them." There's a lot of them chasing us."

"No shit!" Gareki yelled angrily he stopped running and turned to face the guards. Yogi stopped as well turning to face him." What are you doing?!"

Gareki didn't answer he held his hands up in front of him before bringing them outwards and then lifting them upwards like he was lifting something. Yogi began to see a large wall of ice had lifted up from the ground reaching all the way up to the sealing in order to block the guards from following them. Gareki turned around before running again. Yogi followed him.

All four of them soon came to the main gate of the castle. Gareki turned to Avia." You need to hurry and open the gate that wall I put up to hold them back won't hold for long."

She nodded." I got it." she quickly ran up the stairs that lead to the pulley system for the doors. Gareki's ears twitched as he heard the armor and the yelling of the guards coming closer to them. But he focused on the door opening. It opened up slowly but time was running out the guards would be on top of them soon.


	10. Falling Apart

Seth walked over to Gareki coming up close with his arms crossed." I heard what the queen said about you."

Gareki slowly looked up at him a glare in his eyes." You shouldn't believe everything you hear Seth you know what I'm doing and I'm just trying to protect my people, and besides what about you? I heard that you rated out on me. You could have gotten your sister killed doing that. You know Avia was just helping me get this outsider out of here, he's being pursued."

"I don't care, you're both still in the wrong for what you're doing, you're helping this human without knowing his true plans I'd say I'm just being protective —something that you obviously can't be anymore knowing you're helping this outsider even after your father's death—

Gareki punched him in the face swiftly before grabbing a hold of his neck bringing him up close, his fangs clenched together. " Don't bring up my father, you know nothing about what I'm doing. I'm doing this to protect the people I love but what about you? Let's go back to the topic of your sister. She was helping me but since you rated on us she could have been killed tonight you know how my mother is when someone disobeys her rules twice!"

"I know the rules but clearly you don't know Avia like I do. She's gullible she likes to help people but what are you doing now, you're putting her in danger. Letting her help you with this crime you're doing. Once she told me the plan that you agreed to do I couldn't forgive you for putting her in more danger, she's already at risk at getting herself killed. There's no if or maybe about it."

" She wanted to help him!" Gareki yelled throwing aside Seth." Do you honestly think I want to help an outsider after what they've done. It's like I'm speaking to a damn wall, you don't understand what's happening and none of you will even if I explain what's going to happen if we keep this human here, you already know my mother won't believe what I have to say after she's seen what I've done!"

"You two need to stop!" Avia yelled down at them. " I don't care If I die tonight for breaking the rules, I did this to help Yogi, that's it! Gareki's only helping the kingdom, you're misunderstanding everything Seth!"

"Like hell I am." he yelled at her before forcefully grabbing onto Gareki and head butting him. Gareki fell to the ground just as Seth climbed on top of him and aimed a punch at his face, Gareki's head flew to the other side at it's force before he turned back just as Seth aimed another punch towards him but Gareki bit onto his fist, his fangs sinking into his skin making Seth pull away quickly right as Gareki punched him hard in the face.

Yogi watched them in shock as they hissed, biting onto each other's skin, shoving and punching one another like wild animals. He had never seen anything like it. Gareki's eyes lit up intensely as he shoved Seth to the ground ,Seth tried to push against him as Gareki brought his fangs closer to his neck about to end everything but Avia yelled for him to stop. Gareki paused immediately looking shocked at what he was just about to do. Seth shoved him away quickly. Both of them panting as they glared at one another.

Gareki had blood coming from his mouth and nose and a few scratches on his arms but other than that he looked fine despite all the biting they did. Gareki heard the gate open behind him but he didn't register it until Avia told him. He looked down at Seth his breathing still harsh. He shook his head with disgust in his eyes. " You need to tell my mother the truth about what's happening, she won't listen to me, but maybe she'll listen to you considering you didn't break any rules for her to see."

"We'll see." Seth agreed." Just leave."

Gareki felt hate fall over him before he turned and ran out of the entrance of the castle not bothering to look back to see if Yogi was following but Yogi followed anyway, he turned around giving one last look to Avia before nodding a thank you.

She nodded back just as she began to close the gate. Yogi looked down at the dark look on Seth's face right as the gate blocked him from Yogi's view. He could hear the yelling of the guards and Larisa's voice on the other side yelling at the two for information of what happened?

Yogi looked up at the huge snow covered castle in front of him from the brick white bridge he was standing on, the snow covered mountains stood tall around the castle in a large half circle, fog hugged the grounds making it hard to see what was beneath the bridge but from what Yogi could see just from looking over the edge was a large crack in the ice dropping into a dark abyss, he immediately stepped back startled just by looking at it. The castle was a lot more bigger on the outside then what it looked from the in side that was for sure. But relief washed over him. He was finally out but the next step wouldn't be easy he knew that especially with a person like Gareki.

He turned around to where he last saw him running off but he was no longer there. In fact he had disappeared. There was only the ending of the bridge before it left off into the disserted land of fog and snow around him. Yogi looked up at the sky just now noticing it's purple sky, the two moons stood up high above him. Yogi brought his eyes back down looking for any signs of black since that was what Gareki had been wearing.

He walked forward not sure of where he was going as he looked around but as he kept walking he reached the end of the bridge right as he felt a force go right through him pushing him forward harshly he nearly fell over but he caught himself and turned around only to see he was back in that same blue forest from where he had first dropped into this world. What he heard earlier in the throne room Avia had called it the Lumines Forest, short for Luminescent was his guess?

He looked around the sky had changed back to blue but the two moons were still high above him as he began to walk. This place was so strange. Had he really just gone through an invisible wall? He remembered reading about them, they were said to be made by magic in order to protect the territory's of realms that lead from one different place to another in order to keep it hidden. He had definitely stepped through it and now he was back here. Alone. . .looking for Gareki where ever he had gone.

Yogi wasn't surprised. What had just happened had completely made Gareki angry so he definitely wanted to be alone—or he was just trying to abandon me in this forest so I could get killed. Either one would work. Yogi continued walking for a total of five minutes searching cautiously for Gareki. He feared if he called his name then something dangerous and monstrous would come out of hiding so he kept his mouth shut admiring the wild life and vegetation around him as he searched for the teenage boy.

He heard rustling and stopped in his tracks. He slowly looked around bringing out his sword holding it at the ready just in case. The rustle came from behind him and he quickly turned around to where the sound had been. He quickly brought his eyes down where the bush was moving only to see that same blue rabbit—thing— had popped out before running away. He sighed relaxing his tense muscles.

He then heard a hiss behind him and he quickly turned around only to see Gareki hanging upside down from a tree baring his fangs as his blue eyes glared at him angrily.

Yogi stood frozen staring at him as he dropped down from the tree he was hanging off of and landed on his feet before standing up and walking towards him. Yogi backed away as he kept advancing forward not making any move to stop.

"Why are you following me?!" Gareki yelled through grit teeth shoving Yogi backwards.

"W-what?" was all Yogi could say as Gareki pushed against his chest harshly.

"This is all your fault, if you hadn't of come here then none of this would of happened!"

Yogi blinked at him in surprise. "None of this is my fault—"

"Spare me your lies, all of this was linked to you. Face the facts if you hadn't of dropped into this world then I wouldn't have been banished, I hope you're happy with yourself cause you're not going to be for long."

Yogi eyed him slowly, still gripping onto his sword." What is that supposed to mean? You knew from the start that I didn't want any trouble from you or your people. Only thing I asked was for help."

"Well news flash you're a dead man out here, you wouldn't even last a second with or without help." Yogi gave him a steady look." So is that some kind of way of yours telling me that you're going to help me?"

Gareki shoved him again." No! you're a damn outsider why would I help you after everything your people has done to mine?"

Yogi shook his head." That's it. All you people ever talk about is these damn outsiders who are they?!"

A cold breeze passed Yogi as soon as he asked the question. He looked back up into Gareki's slit eyes." Don't act like you don't know, they kill and they steal and you should know that or maybe you don't because you don't know what it's like to lose someone you love." Gareki replied placing a hand on his hip.

Yogi suddenly felt angry at the harsh way Gareki spoke to him. He stood up strait and came up close to his face." I know what it feels like believe me, I've lost both my parents in my own world but I wasn't stupid to let the feeling of hatred consume me like it's done to you. Your people feed off of hatred and those that are innocent around you have no other choice but to deal with it knowing how cold and cruel hearted you are all because of death. It's a horrible disease feeding off of you and everyone else in that place you call a kingdom. Except Avia, you should learn from her."

Yogi hadn't expected all that to come out of his mouth but he definitely wasn't saying sorry or taking it back, it was time they learned the truth rather it be the nice way or the harsh way."You know nothing about me!" Gareki snatched the amulet from around Yogi's neck and jumped up in a tree. Yogi stood stunned for a second before chasing after him." Give me that back, you don't understand how important that is!"

"You don't understand how important my life was before you came here!" Gareki yelled back about to jump to a higher tree but Yogi gripped his tail and pulled him down. Gareki fell to the ground on his back before Yogi snatched back the amulet. He heard a growl erupt from Gareki's throat as he pushing himself up and hit Yogi in the face sending him falling to the floor as well before Gareki quickly crawled on top of him and snatched the amulet back.

He held it up in front of his eyes examining it. His tail flicked slowly behind him in curiosity. "Tell me why this is so important to you? You plan to use it for destruction don't you?"

Yogi opened his eyes quickly taking it back once more. He was about to say something but his mouth hung open by what he saw rising up behind Gareki. Gareki was still on top of him yelling at him but the words he said were unheard by Yogi's ears as he stared a the giant purple frog creeping up behind Gareki.

"G- Gareki?" he muttered. Gareki glared down at him." Who the hell gave you my name?"

"Look behind you!" Yogi yelled finally able to blurt the words out. Gareki turned around only to see the giant slimy tongue heading his way he quickly back flipped out of the way just as Yogi rolled out of the way.

Gareki quickly got to his feet before jumping into a tree for higher ground. He lifted his hand up before snow began to fall from the sky swarming around his palm before forming into a long rode with a long sharp blade on the end of it. Gareki held the glaive in both hands before he jumped up and aimed it at the giant frog.

The frog turned to him and spit out it's tongue right as Gareki cut it off with the blade of his weapon. He landed on the ground in a crouch before ducking backward as the left overs of the frog's tongue tried to grab for him again. He stood up strait before jumping backwards into a tree landing on a branch as the frog tried to swipe at him.

"Great, I don't have time to handle Nether Beasts." Gareki muttered in annoyance bringing his eyes down to where Yogi was. He held the amulet out wards before a bright light came from it's crystal center making the frog back away immediately. Gareki eyed the amulet before bringing his eyes to where the frog was. The frog backed up but stopped once it saw Gareki staring back at it.

Gareki didn't have time to react fast enough as the frog pushed it's heavy weight against the tree he was on. The tree fell over knocking other trees over as well as half of it hung over a rocky cliff of a large water fall. Gareki was about to jump off of it but another tree pushed him over the edge, he quickly made his weapon disappear as he held onto the side of the tree over the long height of water beneath him. It was hard to see what else was down there because of the fog at the bottom.

Gareki held onto a branch for dear life as he tried not to look down, but just then the branch started to snap. He tried to pull himself up but the tree was to big to climb up on and most of the parts he gripped onto broke with a single weight added to it. From his view everything appeared bigger up hear and slightly terrifying he couldn't remember the last time he had been this high up before.

"Gareki?" Yogi called out as he held up the amulet to the frog pushing it back into the forest with it's bright light.

"What?!" Gareki snapped. Yogi saw what the frog had done and he went over towards the fallen tree to help Gareki. He didn't know why but maybe it was because of his good nature." Are you okay?" he peaked down at him standing a few feet away for safe measures.

Gareki growled." Does it look like I'm okay?" He said through clenched fangs. Yogi sighed. "Can you just calm down?"

"How can I calm down when I'm hanging over the edge of a large water fall about to die. You got me into this so you better get me out!"

"I am, considering you'll be owing me after I do this." Yogi said thoughtfully feeling as if he had the upper hand in this situation. Gareki growled in disgust." Like hell I'm doing that."

"Then I guess you fall. . .and die." he pointed out. Gareki clenched his jaw and thought about his offer. He growled lowly." Fine you help me and then I'll help you get to the realm gates."

"Deal," Yogi said walking on the tree further he reached for Gareki and grabbed his freezing cold hand but right as he did the part of the tree Gareki was holding onto snapped completely and they both fell Gareki dragging Yogi with him.

Both of them were to shocked to scream as they fell down the long height. Gareki fell front first as he fell just like Yogi was, the wind whipping at their hair wildly as they stared down at the fog before disappearing inside of it.

Yogi's protective nerves kicked in as he quickly pulled Gareki to his chest and hugged him tightly before switching positions so his back would hit the water first as they both splashed into the water getting lost inside it's strong waves.


	11. Gabriel- Gaurdian Of The Wisps

**Music Choice— Ruelle— War of Hearts**

 **Come To Me In The Night Hours.**

 **I will Wait For You. And I Can't Sleep.**

 **Cause Thoughts Devour, Thoughts Of You Consume.**

* * *

A nightmare. A nightmare is what it all felt like as the waves swept them both away strongly. Yogi had of course grabbed onto Gareki before they had hit the water but as soon as they hit the waves he had lost him, he felt him get swept away way faster than himself despite the hold he had on him.

Yogi felt the pressure against his ears and nose as he went under the waves, luckily having time to catch his breath before going down. They were strong, constantly pulling him in or pushing him back like a rag doll. He felt his shoulder hit against a the hard surface of a rock and a pain went through his enitre arm as he quickly pushed himself away from it losing most of the air he had breathed in.

He fought the waves to get to the surface. His head flew back once he had made it above the waves, breathing heavy to catch his breath, he was only able to look around for a split second before being dragged under again, losing cautiousness once his head hit something hard. That was the last thing he remembered.

Yogi opened his eyes slowly seeing nothing but the two moons above him as he laid on his back. Everything around him was silent except for the steady movement of the water he felt against his boots, the night was warm no longer having the frigid cold he had felt when he was near the ice castle, which was a relief. He blinked a few times as he felt the pain in his head. Sitting up he brought a hand to his temple, dabbing it slightly with his finger tips. He brought it around to see his fingers were bloody.

The pain on his shoulder was worse as he brought his eyes down to look at it only to see he was bleeding through the tear on his white button up shirt. At least his sword was still on his hip so that wasn't the bad part but what was was the fact Gareki wasn't anywhere to be seen. Yogi looked around climbing to his hands and knees. He looked towards the river it wasn't going as fast as it had been before but that was only because he had reached the calmer part of the water fall, which meant Gareki had to be around here somewhere he doubted he had been the only one that washed up on shore at least he hoped.

Gareki may have been cold, cruel, and harsh toward him but he still was a person and just like Avia Yogi learned to forgive Gareki as well even if he didn't want to. He got to his feet doing a short examination over his body to see if anything else was injured but found that it was only his head and shoulder that had been hit the worst which was somewhat lucky. Plenty of other bad things could have happened but they hadn't. He made sure the amulet was still tide around his neck and it was.

Yogi began walking on the soggy rock covered bank looking specifically near the river for any signs of black. But looking for a whole two minutes he come up with nothing. He looked around only to see next to the bank were trees surrounding the perimeter leading into the forest was an opening through all the glowing blue vegetation. Maybe Gareki had gone in there but right when he took a few steps towards it he passed a big rock that was sitting in the shallow water and next to it was a body laying on it's side half of his face in the water.

He paused immediately squinting slightly only to see that same skinny blue tail and a glimpse of a familiar short elf ear. Yogi quickly walked over to Gareki before kneeling down he lifted his head up out of the water. He looked sickly and he wasn't mentioning the pale skin, he was slightly red in the cheeks and he had a pained look on his face but even so he still looked beautiful.

Yogi slowly moved aside a few wet strands of hair from Gareki's forehead now seeing his full appearance his dark eyelashes were long against his pale skin, Yogi noticed that but something else caught his eyes Gareki looked so innocent unlike the cold person he had been speaking to before. Yogi looked over him with a slightly worried look on his face. What was he going to do? Gareki was an entirely different species completely opposite from his own race so even if he tried to help him he wouldn't know if it would take effect the same way. But it was worth a try.

Yogi leaned down to hear if Gareki was breathing or not a few seconds passed and that was enough to say he wasn't. This wasn't good, how long had he been knocked out like this. . . or maybe he was already dead. A slight urge of panic went through his body just thinking that he leaned upwards positioning his hands on top of each other over the center of Gareki's chest before pushing down in continuous motions. There had to be water still trapped inside his lungs that much he knew.

But as he continued to push down Gareki didn't throw up water like he had expected him to do. Yogi looked down at Gareki's face another idea coming to his mind but if he did it he hoped Gareki wouldn't kill him once he woke up. He leaned down closing his eyes as he brought his lips closer to Gareki's. Both the sensations of cold and heat radiating off of both of them as he leaned down even further.

But he stopped once he felt a drop of blood from his forehead fall. He opened his eye to see it had fallen right onto Gareki's cheek it gradually slid down his face leaving a trail of dark red. Gareki's nose twitched and he immediately snapped his eyes open. The slits in his eyes were slightly wide and he quickly averted them towards Yogi who flinched backwards at their bodies closeness trying to act as if he wasn't about to just do mouth to mouth.

"Your not dead," Yogi said with a slight smile, he was surprised but relieved. Gareki didn't answer him right away. He looked at Yogi oddly his eyes seeming to roam over his bleeding forehead and the gash on his shoulder before he brought a finger up to the blood on his cheek he brought it in front for his eyes to see, his mouth hung open slightly as he looked down at the blood bringing it slowly to his tongue before sliding it off slowly.

The smile on Yogi's face disappeared as Gareki looked back up at him but he didn't give him that same glare he stared at him with hunger in his glowing blue eyes a dark look crossing over his features. Yogi's eyes widend before quickly getting to his feet. Gareki gave him a terrifying hiss as his fangs grew longer baring themselves. He got up before running towards Yogi in a quick speed.

Yogi didn't waist any time as he turned and ran into the forest as fast as he could. Expecting to lose him in the wild growth of hanging vines and over grown bushes but he heard Gareki's heavy footsteps right behind him. Yogi panted slightly as he quickly turned around heading in another direction hopping over a bush before toppling over smaller plants and was hit in the face by dangling vines.

He fell on his stomach before crawling to get to his feet but he felt a strong yank being brought to his ankle pulling him back down with a thud. Yogi took a quick look behind him only to see Gareki pulling him with a strong grip on his foot. Yogi clenched his jaw," Sorry, but I need to do this." with that said Yogi brought his other foot up and kicked Gareki in the chest forcing him to let go as he fell backwards giving out an angry growl. Yogi got to his feet and quickly ran in a direction he didn't 't know but that didn't matter, he needed to get away from Gareki before he got any closer again.

Yogi ran out of the forests coming back out onto the bank where he had just been. He stopped, there was no where else to go. He looked around quickly before running again thinking it was better to keep running than just stand out in the open. Yogi swore inside his head at himself for doing something so stupid. He had made a mistake a huge mistake— of course Gareki was hungry for blood Yogi hadn't missed the look of craving on his face every time he ended up bleeding just from the smallest of cuts or gashes. But Gareki had always controlled himself so what happened this time?

 _Maybe he couldn't hold back anymore once he got a taste of my blood._ Yogi thought.

He needed to get the regular Gareki back some how but how was he going to do that? Yogi doubted he could reach any sense into his head to make him stop long enough to listen to reason. But he could try. Yogi eyed a small hiding spot near a bush and he headed over to it. But he heard heavy footsteps running fast towards him from behind making his heart jump in his chest.

"You thought you got away!" Gareki's voice suddenly yelled in his ears as he felt a weight drop on his shoulders before feeling arms tightly wrap around his neck pulling him down backwards onto the rocky ground of the bank. Yogi brought his own hands up pulling against Gareki's strong arms."Gareki stop it!"

Gareki let go only to quickly climb on top of Yogi baring his fangs once again before coming up close to his neck trying to bite it but Yogi pushed his hands against his chest." Gareki listen to me—"

Gareki lunged at him pushing harder against his hands." Don't try to stop me!" he snarled eyes blazing. But Yogi kept his hands pushed against him using every ounce of strength he had in his body to get Gareki away from him but he was way stronger." I know it's hard but you need to stop and control yourself, do you really want to drink my blood? Just stop and think for a moment!"

Yogi stared into his bright blue eyes he saw the slits in his them slightly become smaller as he stopped fighting against him. Gareki closed his mouth clenching his jaw tightly before quickly removing himself from Yogi. Yogi sat up and watched him as he paced back and forth with his hands brought to his head clenching the sides of it. He was fighting the urge. Jaw clenching and unclenching as his fangs still were sharpened. Gareki groaned loudly feeling his mind fighting him urging him to take a bite out of Yogi's neck but he fought back just as strongly.

Gareki sighed stopping his pacing before quickly bring his arm up to his mouth and bit down hard his eyes staring at Yogi hard and intense as he did so. Yogi watched him in shock as the pained looked crossed his face the further he continued to sink his fangs into his own flesh. Red blood dripping from the two holes his fangs created before he licked it away. He pulled his fangs out of his arm taking in a breath as his red face returned to it's natural pale tone and his eyes returned back to normal as did his fangs growing back to their smaller size. Wiping his mouth he eyed Yogi with a glare as he breathed harshly gaining back control over himself.

"You should heed this as a warning to stay away from me,"he said dangerously before turning, speedily walking away. Yogi stared after him still in shock but quickly got to his feet and ran after him." Where are you going?" he stopped a close distance behind him.

Gareki stopped and pushed him away with a strong force making the blonde fall to the ground again. His blue-grey eyes stared down at him the two moons high up behind his head making his face look shadowed. "Did you seriously not just see what I could have done to you, you can't be near me and I sure as hell don't want to be near you. I'm going back home." He turned around and began walking again.

"We had a deal Gareki, and I saved your life, so you owe me in return for that."

Gareki stopped and turned around once again."You barely saved my life, now if you don't want to die than you should stay away from me bleeding like that, you don't know what could happen next. I could lose control again and actually kill you the next time which I don't even understand why I stopped in the first place ,I could have ended you right here."

"But you didn't, you let me reason with you." Gareki didn't say anything he stood his ground and stared at Yogi. Yogi sighed before getting to his feet and walked over to him. Gareki took steps back which surprised Yogi but he assumed it was because he didn't want to drink or smell the blood of an Outsider.

"I'm not afraid of you Gareki. No matter if you bite me or not, you may be intimidating and mysteriously alluring but you don't scare me. But what I want know is. . .what are you?" Yogi stopped walking stepping right in front of Gareki who had stopped backing away once Yogi had called him alluring.

Gareki gave him a side ways glower before crossing his arms." You really want to know," he asked slowly in a wary voice.

Yogi stood there deciphering if he wanted to tell this Outsider what he was. But he supposed it didn't really matter considering he would be dying in this world anyway so he went ahead with it."If you're completely clueless about it and If you really must know then fine. I'm an Avatarian, a being who can wield ice and snow with magical abilities." behind him his tail flicked upwards curling slightly. Yogi averted his eyes curiously staring at it. He stood there for a minute examining the thin tail but for way too long for Gareki's liking. He let out an annoyed breath before flicking it downwards out of his view." Stop staring at it!" he emphasized.

Yogi held his hands up defensively. "Sorry, it's just. . . strange." Gareki shook his head before turning to walk away again." It's only strange because you're not used to it further more proving my point that you wouldn't last a night in this place."

Yogi watched after him. "Are you still going home even after your own mother banished you? if you wanted to stay their so badly why did you run off?"

Gareki kept walking deeper into the Lumines Forest Yogi followed him soon catching up to his side." Did you hear me—"

"Yes! I heard you." He snapped gravitated. He looked strait ahead not sparring a glance at Yogi." The only reason I ran away was because I was angry and I wanted to get away from everything I was planning on returning once I ditched you but as it turns out we ended up being attacked by a damn Nether Beast all because you had to follow me."

Yogi frowned confused ignoring everything else except the part about the Nether Beast." What is that?"

Gareki sighed."Don't you know anything?" he said still with an aggravated tone.

"No considering I've never been here." Yogi replied flatly. Gareki spared him a glance before looking ahead again. You're definitely the strangest Outsider I've seen, and first time met and I don't even know why I'm bothering to speak to you after what you've done."

Disgruntlement crossed over Yogi."Okay, how many times am I going to have to correct you? I'm not an Outsider I'm just a—"

"A prince who needs to get back home to save his kingdom, yeah I got it. That's some lie you made up very unimaginative. But you get points for trying, now do me a favor and uh— stop following me, for all I know you probably have a band of thieves following us right now trying to kill me."

Yogi eyed him angrily before he stopped walking." Okay what is it with you? Are you completely stupid to believe I would kill you? Because that's not my plan I've told you it many times and you still don't believe me. But why am I questioning you considering you're to ignorant to even consider what I've been saying to you this whole time is the complete truth."

Gareki stopped not turning around and Yogi felt the air around him turn degrees colder as soon as those words passed his lips but he wasn't taking them back. Gareki nodded slowly, clenching his fists at his sides before turning around quickly aiming a punch at his face. Yogi didn't flinch he stood there waiting for it to happen but Gareki's fist only stopped inches away from his nose.

Gareki set his jaw before throwing his fist at him again but it stopped once more in front of his face."What the hell?!" he cursed irritably.

Yogi held up the amulet in front of him." It's protecting me." Gareki growled at him before turning away continuing to walk down the tree root path, roughly shoving aside hanging leaves taking his anger out on them instead. Yogi continued to follow him." Gareki, I'm serious,I need your help. You're the only one who knows where the Realm Gates are and if I'm an Outsider like you say then I would have already killed you when you were laying unconscious back there. There were a lot of times where I could have acted out on killing you or destroying your home but I didn't, that has to prove to you what my real intentions ar—

"Shh." Gareki hissed covering his mouth with his freezing hand as he stopped in his tracks. He looked around cautiously slowly eyeing everything around him. Yogi knew just by looking at him that he hadn't heard a single word he had said." What is it?" Yogi asked loudly, taking his freezing cold hand away from his mouth. Gareki slapped him across the face with his tail." Would you shut up." he hissed into a whisper before turning back around crouching low before crawling stealthily behind a tree. He held his hand up in front of him before forming a long sharp spear of ice.

Yogi rubbed the side of his stinging cheek in disbelief that Gareki had just slapped him, he hadn't expected that sort of violence. It was then he heard the rustling of the trees above. Both of them looked upwards and as soon as they did a flurry of white wisp flew down towards them.

Yogi nearly shouted as they all flew past him swarming over to Gareki who had an annoyed look on his face as they all flew around him like flying flames. He sighed before standing up." Oh, it's just you guys."

They all giggled their voices sounding tiny as they did, they were pretty adorable from what Yogi could see, but he wondered why had they gone immediately to Gareki, did he know them?

They all swirled around him asking him questions but it all sounded like a jumbled mess since they were talking at the same time. Gareki crossed his arms after dispersing the spear of ice." All of you need to stop. You know I only have two ears, what is it you're asking me?" one of them floated next to his ear before saying something and as if on cue they all turned to glance at Yogi.

"He's just following me, I'm supposed to be helping him." Gareki shrugged. Another asked a question but it spoke in a language Yogi couldn't understand but then again they all did. Yogi felt completely confused at this point. He already knew he was the center of their conversation by the looks he received from all of them.

"I don't care if he gets angry with me, I keep telling him we're not like that and neither are me and this human here," Gareki said annoyed.

The wisp spoke again. Gareki frowned confused." What do you mean Gabriel wants to see me? Don't tell me it's because I'm with this Outsider?"

All the wisps nodded before flying in a direction looking back at him as if they wanted him to follow. Yogi looked at Gareki." What was that all about?"

He didn't answer his question just walked past him." Just follow me," he said in a low voice aggravation still clear within it. Yogi could tell he was still angry with him. He began to think Gareki was never going to be happy not when he was near. He followed Avatar down the path looking ahead to see the wisps leading the way further into the deep forest.

More of the trees surrounded them as they continued to walk. Yogi looked around noticing the glowing green moss on the ground forming a path with lots glowing plants to the sides of it in a blue hue with sparks of purple and green. He looked closer at the huge flowers growing along the path only to see that their steams were bright green inside as if it had fireflies inside of it and Yogi was sure it had eaten them because as soon as he walked past it tried to snap at him having sharp teeth as soon as the petals opened up to a mouth, he quickly side stepped and walked faster in order to get away from it before it could try the same thing over again.

He saw way more animals and creatures than when he had before. He caught the eyes of beautiful birds their feathers the colors of dark blues and purples with the same glowing specks on their wings as they flew in the night sky. Most of the tree's leaves blocked the moonlight from shining through so it didn't take long to lose track of them but more interesting creatures popped up for him to see all of them having the same glowing specks highlighting against the night and the glowing forest itself. It was beautiful he wished he could have a picture of it to make it last but that wasn't likely.

Yogi brought his eyes over to Gareki watching him as he walked ahead of him casually with his hands in the pocket of his black jeans. He looked down at his tail curiously as it swayed behind him left and right slowly. He saw the same specks on it like all the other creatures he had seen. They were glowing in the dark as well. He brought his eyes back up.

Other people would probably be terrified of this world that he just so happened to fall into. But it wasn't really all that scary, at least not yet. He knew things were just starting from the beginning and would possibly get more dangerous the further he traveled.

The wisps lead them to a large tree that was in the center of the forest. At the bottom was a dome shaped home made of the bark from the tree. It had windows and a door and overall it looked like any regular home. . .in a forest that is.

Gareki walked over to the door right as the wisp went through it like ghosts. He brought his hand up to the handle about to grab it but the door swung open to a teenage boy looking around his age. He sprung out and hugged Gareki like he hadn't seen him in years.

The boy swung his legs around Gareki's hips before bringing his lips to the boys cheek in a quick peck. Yogi nearly fell over seeing this display right in front of his eyes. Maybe it wasn't as weird as it looked. . .

"So my boyfriend's finally came to see me huh?" the boy said tauntingly before kissing Gareki on the forehead. Apparently Yogi had spoke too soon. Gareki sighed, "Gabreil get off me you know we're not like that, how many times do I have to tell you?" he rested a hand on his hip giving the boy a flat look.

Gabriel noticed his annoyed tone." Looks like someone made you angry." his yellow eyes suddenly came to look at Yogi who stood a few feet behind Gareki." I think I found the culprit." he said darkly before dropping down from Gareki showing his full appearance.

He was anything but a slob or ugly at that he might as well have been the very opposite. Gabriel was perfection. His greenish- dark bluish hair fell over his forehead in slight curls with the sides being cut and the intense look in his yellow eyes were demanding but beautiful. He looked fashionable stylish in the silky dark patterned shirt he was wearing along with black slim pants and black leather studded flats. He also had the elf ears Gareki did bit they were longer. There was no sign of a tail or sharp fangs, he looked normal despite his ears. But Yogi took a look at his wrists seeing green cover the skin in that area. So what kind of mythical human was he. . . .?


	12. Truths Out

**Music Choice—Simon Curtis and Britney Spears— Turn My Flesh Inside Out**

 **Baby Shut You Mouth And Turn My Flesh Inside Out.**

 **Push Up To My Body Sink Your Teeth Into My Flesh.**

* * *

Gabriel eyed Yogi up and down gradually before blowing out a short laugh which didn't sound humorous at all." Looks like I don't have much competition which is a relief, I have you all to myself Gareki."

Gareki rolled his eyes." Gabriel, now is not the time."

"Sh sh sh." Gabriel hushed him putting his index finger to his lips looking at him." Now is the time, it's always the time," he said slowly before turning back towards Yogi." So I'm guessing you're the human my wisps have been telling me about. Humph interesting."

Gareki pushed his finger away from his lips before speaking." You already know?"

Gabriel spread his arms out." Of course I know. My wisp fly all around this area even where the ice castle is. They all gather info for me. I know lots!" he said happily. Gareki crossed his arms over his chest, giving him a bored look." No you don't." he said flatly.

Gabriel dropped his arms but still kept the smile." I know, but a guy can dream can't he? But any way I've also heard some things about you and they aren't real good things either, but hey I like my boys bad. "

Gareki ignored the last part trying to act as if he hadn't just heard that." What things?" Gabriel looped his arm with his pulling him slightly towards the open door where the dim light was coming from." How about we talk about this inside, yeah? Come along."

Yogi watched Gabriel practically drag Gareki inside before he followed along with them. He still wasn't sure how to react to this guy. He was jolly and Yogi doubted he ever had a bad day telling by how happy and excited he was, it was as if he was naturally born that way and who knew maybe he was. But he wouldn't let the fact slide that he had just seen the guy kiss Gareki the harshest person he knew on the forehead and cheek as if it had been so easy but maybe it was because they knew each other. He wasn't going to judge.

He shut the door behind him looking up to see a wooden style house staring back at him. It smelt like sweet berries and the slightest scent of dark wood making the home have an odd magical feel to it. He looked over to his left to see a small couch with two small love sweets facing one another on either side while a fire crackled in the fire place made of stone. There was a small kitchen to the right having all the common tools for cooking and cleaning and right next to it were book shelves which stored lots of books apparently Gabriel liked to read. Up next to the shelves was a stair well leading up to possibly bedrooms and bathroom.

The wisps flew around the room in tiny huddles as if in conversation or either playing. Over all the home was comfortable and more bigger inside then he would have guessed.

Gabriel sat Gareki down on the couch offering tea to the both of them as he walked over to the kitchen taking out a tea pot before dumping in two mint tea leaves and poured water inside he closed the lid before putting it on a burner lighting the small fire underneath. He turned around and clapped his hands together once." Now let's get down to business and by business I mean gossip so let me lay it on you."

Yogi sat down in the love seat right as Gabriel sat in the one in front of him.

Gareki sighed leaning against the couch before crossing his arm over his chest." What ever you're about to say Gabriel it's not true, none of it is."

Gabriel placed his palms together before placing them both over his lips nodding slowly. "Um-Hmm, so you're telling me that you didn't just get banished from the ice castle by queen Larisa and that you're not helping this human friend of yours."

"We're not friends, more like acquaintances." Gareki corrected as soon as the words passed his lips. Gabriel laughed." Okay seems like you two didn't get along the first time you met, but it doesn't really surprise me you don't do well with outsiders, neither does your kingdom."

Yogi leaned forward feeling aggravated about the conversation." Can the two of you stop talking like I'm not here because I can clearly hear you both."

"Some one's got a temper and it's surprisingly not just you Gareki." Gabreil smirked right when Gareki rolled his eyes. Gabriel turned towards Yogi." Sorry the only person I've ever been used to talking to is Gareki so you're going to have to excuse my rudeness." he placed one leg over the other.

Yogi reluctantly agreed."Fine."

"Good." he smiled before turning back to Gareki placing his elbow on the arm wrest before placing his chin in the palm of his hand." So is it true?"

Gareki set his jaw." One of them is and that's the part when I get banished from my home but the other part I need to ask you about." Gabriel lifted an eyebrow before hearing the whistle of the tea pot on the stove." Ask me," he said as he got up to handle it.

Gareki side glance at Yogi who was staring at him before turning around to face Gabriel." I need you to do me a favor." Gabriel looked over towards him before turning to look back down at the tea pot before pouring it's contents into mugs." I am your faithful companion, so once again ask me." he urged on.

"You know where the realm gates are so I'm going to need you to take this outsider to them so he can get back to his own world or whatever it is he's trying to get back to. Apparently the outsider lost his way and doesn't know how to get back."

Yogi's eyes widened as Gareki said this but he was speechless to protest anything right as Gareki gave him that cold glare again that made his lips sealed.

Gabriel paused for a second before bursting out in laughter. "Oh my goodness that was a good one!—But no," he said seriously his laughter dying within a second.

Gareki clenched the cushion on the couch." Why not?" Gabriel smiled." listen Gareki, I'm a faerie guardian of the wisp forest not a baby sitter for an outsider, I'm sorry but you're going to have to carry this one out on your own, I have jobs to carry out myself." he walked over with a tray and placed a mug of tea in front of him." but hopefully this doesn't change us." he leaned down and pecked him on the forehead. But Gareki didn't even register it he was to busy thinking about his response.

He was stuck with this guy weather he liked it or not. But then a sudden idea came to mind and he wondered why he hadn't done it this whole time? Because he hadn't been thinking, he was to angry about what happened at the castle. He stood up and faced Yogi. Yogi looked up at him confused. "What are you doing?"

Gabriel looked at his back with a concerned expression. "He's right, what are you doing?"

Gareki lifted his hand right in front of Yogi's chest." You know what, I'm not doing this I didn't sign up for it, none of it, I've lost everything because of him and I'll be damned if I spend another minute near him. The constant beating of his heart, I can hear it that's just how blood thirsty I am furthering the reason to kill him on the spot."

"Whoa wait—" Gabriel yelled standing between them blocking Gareki's shot. He sat down the tray before putting both hands on Gareki's shoulders. "That wouldn't be a good idea, now would it love?"

Gareki pushed his hands off." And why wouldn't it be? You're a guardian of the wisp so you should know everything that he's done. And you should know that it's unforgivable."

Gabriel glanced at Yogi behind him who still had a shocked expression before he faced Gareki again." You're making a huge mistake, he may have caused you to be banished, and he may have nearly caused you to die and lose the trust of your people, but he's more different than you know."

"And you know?" Gareki asked him, looking at him with a slightly annoyed face. Gabriel nodded slowly." Of course I know, you've forgotten my powers but I'm sure you'd be interested to see them right?"

Gabriel reached down and slowly grabbed his hand intertwining their fingers before turning towards Yogi." I hope you don't mind but I need to take a look inside your memories so this guy here doesn't kill you inside my home."

Yogi's shocked look disappeared being replaced with unease." I'm not so sure."

"Come on, it won't hurt, it'll just be a little zap of electricity nothing more, it's either this or you get turned into a frozen statue from the inside out by my friend here who still wants to kill your guts." Gabreiel smiled unaffected.

Yogi nodded not having any other choice in the matter." Go ahead."

"That a boy." Gabriel muttered before bringing his index finger to the center of Yogi's forehead with a zap of blue electricity All of there eyes went inside their head as they were all reliving the tragic day Vileus took over Yogi's kingdom by taking half the amulet. The memories came into Gareki's mind in quick vivid flashes. The fire the destruction and death, and most of all his family being taken away from him either by death or kidnapping. Gareki saw all of it before it all ended with a zap of electricity going through the hand Gabriel was holding.

Both Gabriel and Gareki jerked away from Yogi before falling onto the floor with a thud. Gareki's eyes rolled back into position as he opened them and brought a hand to his head, a groan emitting from his throat. There was this lasting feeling of tingling going through the hand that had been electrocuted and there were the flashing images from Yogi's memories coming and going through his mind. He shook his head, it couldn't have been true.

Gabriel wobbled to his feet before using the wall for support he leaned down and helped Gareki to his feet." You saw it correct, now you should believe everything he's said to you."

Gareki shook his head looking at Yogi as he sat up in the chair rubbing a hand to his head." You have to be kidding." He muttered in disbelief not wanting to think what he had just seen was the absolute truth but he knew Gabriels visions were always correct when it came to looking into minds.

Gabriel eyed him." It's true, my powers and his memories don't lie, it's real Gareki and it's time that you except that."Gareki was speechless as he eyed Yogi." So everything was real, everything that happened to you?" his eyebrows pushed together making him look serious.

Yogi looked up at him before nodding." Yes, I wasn't lying."

Gareki looked away from him thinking about his next course of action. Yogi was an Outsider no doubt about it but he wasn't the evil kind like he had mistaken him to be. The name Outsider was another name for a human with the ability to go through and form Realm Gates or portals in this case to steal or kill specific people and take away certain jewels of that realm's kingdom. Something valuable was all they ever hunted for but now that he finally thought about it Yogi hadn't really done anything of the sort even if he had come through a portal. Words Yogi had said to him earlier was true, he was blinded by hatred and failed to see the actually good in people.

He wasn't sure how to act now towards him, he hadn't really learned the ways to talk nice to people considering he learned everything from his mother who was nothing but nice.

Gabriel looked at them both." So what do you think now Gareki, do you trust him and are you willing to help him?" Gareki looked down at the somewhat hopeful and serious look on Yogi's face." I don't know about trust but I'll help him. Putting everything he's done aside or at least try to."

"Good, then we'll speak more about this in the morning but as for now you two need to get yourselves dry, you're still wet from that river." he walked over to a mini cabinet next to the fireplace and pulled out towels, throwing them in their direction. They both caught them.

"Now follow me to where you'll be sleeping." he lead them up the stairs which led to a small hallway with two bedrooms and a bathroom. He opened the door to the right and walked them inside. Walking over to a lamp he turned it on revealing a single king sized bed.

"Here you are, I don't really get much company but hey I kept the bed anyway."

Yogi looked at the bed in question." How'd you get a bed. . .in?"

Gabriel brought up a hand and in his palm was a dark blue ball of flames." It's all magic," he said before clenching his fist. He walked over to the door once they had walked inside." It may be a single bed but don't do anything other than sleep, I know Gareki may be irresistible but don't touch him, he's mine." with that said Gabriel closed the door leaving both of them staring at it with embarrassment well Yogi any way, Gareki just stared at it blankly unaffected by his choice of words.

"Okay," Yogi said slowly in a quiet voice. He turned back towards the bed before rubbing the towel over his clothing to soak up some of the water that was still left in the fabric." He definitely knows how to speak his mind."

"He's only joking. . . .at least I think. We're only friends." Gareki replied plainly which was a surprise to Yogi. He had thought he would've just ignored him. Maybe he would finally treat him with respect unlike the cold shoulder he had been giving him. He watched Gareki sit on the floor crossed legged before bringing his arm up to his mouth opening wide to reveal his fangs before biting down entering them into his skin.

Yogi was slightly surprised by this again. The pained look crossed Gareki's face as he bit down harder." What are you doing?" his voice came out more quiet than what he had intended it to be but Gareki heard him all the same. He pulled his fangs out of his bleeding arm before wiping his mouth. Two small holes were left when Yogi looked down at it." You're shoulder's still bleeding and this is the only way that I can control myself without thinking about it."

Yogi covered his bleeding shoulder with the towel eyeing Gareki's arm with a slight cringe." Doesn't it hurt?"

Gareki leaned his head back against the bed before looking at him in the corner of his eye." No shit it hurts but it holds me back from losing control again meaning it stops me from killing you considering I have to help you even more now."

Yogi frowned slightly." But won't that kill you since you're drinking your own blood?"

Gareki got up from the floor and sat on the bed." Not exactly, there's a lot of other things that can kill me but not this. Drinking my own blood it's not satisfying but it'll have to do. Back at home we usually drink the blood of a certain forest animal but I haven't seen it around these parts of the forest yet so I'm going to have to settle with my own for now."

"That doesn't sound good."

Gareki shrugged." It is what it is, even if I do get weak from it, it shouldn't be any of your concern." he said it as if he wanted to drop the subject but Yogi wasn't going to do that. He crossed his arms shaking his head." Just because you're cold to me doesn't mean I'll be the same towards you."

Gareki leaned down to take off his boots." Even though you called me ignorant in the forest earlier?" Yogi sighed taking a step closer to him." That was different, I was angry you were angry we say things that we don't mean."

Gareki dropped one of his boots to the floor before going to the next one." Yeah well in this case you were right to call me ignorant cause I'll admit just this once that I was being stupid, don't get used to me saying these types of things either."

Yogi slowly nodded." Okay, but that's not my point, what I'm trying to say is that since we're going to be traveling together for the next few days or how ever long it takes us to get to the Realm Gates then we should at least think about one another's well being and first I'm going to start with you and your blood problem."

Gareki dropped the other boot to the floor before turning his body towards Yogi's who sat on the bed next to him." I don't have a blood problem." he gave him a disagreeing look.

"You sure about that," Yogi asked right as he took the towel away from his shoulder revealing the bleeding cut. Gareki immediately looked at it his eyes transfixed for a few seconds before he forced himself to look the other away. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Trying to help you, maybe if you just drink some then you won't lose your mind again the next time you see me bleeding." Yogi insisted.

Gareki chuckled out a humorless laugh two of his fangs appearing as he half grinned." Are you serious, did you literally just say ' **some'** as if it's that easy to just drink a little bit?"

Yogi lifted an eyebrow." Yeah, what's the big deal. I know you can stop yourself you already did it once so why not do it again?"

Gareki leaned backwards looking him strait in the eyes a serious look on his face." Let me tell you something, it isn't easy I don't know what it is about your blood that's making me like this but when I tasted it— he paused and leaned into him closely leaving a few inches between them, "you have no idea how good it was. It was different definitely something you can't get here in my world."

Yogi stared into his eyes unblinking." I know you'll stop, I'm not afraid. You already said it yourself, you don't want to kill me— not anymore anyway. So just bite me."

Gareki slowly shook his head."You really don't know what you're asking of me."

"Trust me I do." Yogi lifted up his hands and unbutton the collar around his neck so that his neck was exsposed. "Go ahead, you can bite me here if you want. I don't care." he cocked his head as he trailed his fingers along the side of his neck exposing it even more to him.

Gareki slowly looked away from Yogi's eyes bringing them down to where his fingers were placed. He could see one of the veins pulsing slowly his eyes locked onto it staying there for what seemed like seconds passing but was actually minutes. He could hear Yogi's heart rate thud in his ears as if it were pressed against his chest. The slits in his eyes widened as his iris's glowed a bright blue. Gareki slowly leaned in feeling the warmth radiate off of Yogi's skin as he slowly graced his lips over the skin on his neck.

Yogi shivered slightly as Gareki's cold lips touched his skin. Couldn't help but to blush a little at the sensation. He felt Gareki's mouth open before feeling the sharp edges of his fangs as they penetrated his skin. He gasped slightly at the sharp pain before closing his eyes feeling the blood inside of him pull in a different direction towards Gareki's mouth as he sucked. He leaned his head back subconsciously allowing more room for him to bite. The pain subsided as Gareki continued to drink him. He opened his eyes slowly, his vision beginning to turn hazy as darkness clouded the edges of his sight.

He didn't think this was supposed to happen, he moved back slightly but then he felt Gareki's hand grip his shoulder keeping him there as his sucking became more persistent and Yogi felt his vision slip away as the darkness blocked out everything.


	13. Trouble

**Music Choice—Pink— Just Give Me A Reason**

 **Right From The Start You Were A thief You Stole My Heart.**

 **And I Your Willing Victim.**

* * *

Yogi inhaled as he opened his eyes to the bright light that came in from the small crack in the curtains hanging from the window. He was confused about his surroundings, thinking for a second that he was back home but that thought quickly left his mind as the throbbing pain in his head woke him up making him realize he was still in the world completely different from his own.

Rousing him further from his drowsiness. He lifted a hand to his forehead rubbing it to sooth the throbbing, but it was constantly thudding against his skull matching the steady pace of his heart beat. He slowly brought his hand down looking around the room as he sat up in the bed.

Gareki wasn't in the room with him, where was he? Yogi turned his head slightly causing a burning pain to ignite on his neck. He hissed gripping the side of it before quickly pulling aside his collar pushing his finger tips against his skin before bringing them in front of his eyes. Two drops of blood stared back at him as he looked at it in confusion and surprise. Still to sleep driven to think about what had caused it but he soon recalled the memory.

"Blood?" he whispered. The thought of last night came back to him just then. He remembered Gareki's cold lips pressing against his skin, the penetration of his fangs injecting into his blood stream, and he mostly remembered losing his sight feeling a high he hadn't felt before almost as if he were drunk. But the feeling was fleeting as soon as he lost consciousness.

Yogi began to wonder about the offer he had given Gareki. Last night it had felt like the right thing to do but now it felt like it had been a crazy idea. He had literally offered Gareki to bite him and drink his blood like he didn't have a mission to accomplish—Gareki could have killed him but yet he didn't and Yogi felt thankful for that. He wasn't positive if he would offer the chance again but he might as well since Gareki was leading him to the realm gates in which he would need to be in full strength for the trip.

He sighed, the pain in his neck some what subsiding. He looked down at his arm that was still wrapped in bandages by the bite he had gotten from the sprite beetle Avia had told him about. The bandages were disheveled and still slightly damp from the water last night. He slowly unwound them only to see his arm was no longer red and the tiny bite he had once seen was faded leaving a small red bruise. Looking at this made him remember the bleeding wound on his stomach.

Yogi quickly unbuttoned his vest before lifting up his white button up shirt to see bandages wrapped around his abdomen. He took them off and saw only a thin long red scare left in it's place. He dropped his shirt back over it feeling relieved it was no longer bleeding. Even his shoulder seemed to be healed. He ran his finger tips over the skin in that area only to feel a slight sourness but other than that nothing. He would have imagined it would hurt a lot more since it had been a brand new injury but now it seemed healed.

Yogi eyed the wall strangely as he thought about the bite Gareki had given him last night. Just the simplest reminder made him blush just at the thought of his cold lips gracing his skin softly. He swallowed hard pushing the memory out of his mind. What the hell was wrong with him? He needed to get out of this world he was wasting time here. He removed himself from the bed, buttoning up his vest and shirt before grabbing the door knob and walked out of the room shutting the door quietly behind him.

He wasn't sure of Gabriel was awake or not, but the house stood still and quiet, just the drop of something small would make it sound like an echo through out the house, that was how silent it was. it was somewhat creepy but Yogi dismissed it making his way down the stairs just as quietly. Guessing that Gabriel was still sleeping.

He looked around but still there was no sign of Gareki just the stillness of the living room. There was no way of telling the time but once Yogi opened the front door the glowing forest was no longer glowing as the sun stood over it, so now he knew it was morning at least. He smiled slightly walking out into it's rays feeling goose bumps roll up his skin as it's warmness came over his skin.

How long had it been since he felt the sun's warmth, it had been to long, that was for sure. He took a few steps onto the tree root path looking at his surroundings. The flapping and chirping of birds was the main wake up call in the forests as they flew around up in the trees. The specks on their backs no longer glowing as they had done last night but they were still a beautiful sight to see. He walked further into the forest making sure he wouldn't get himself lost as he admired the blue leaves.

A sudden feeling of hunger made his stomach turn and he wondered if Gabriel had anything to eat in his home that wouldn't kill him. Just like Gareki Gabriel was an entire different race from his own so it would make sense if he ate different foods that weren't common in Yogi's realm.

He decided to continue walking as he heard the sound of a water fall thinking he could use a drink before he headed back on the path back to Gabriel's home. He pushed aside hanging leaves from the trees above him before squeezing past bushes and other small plants. He felt his foot press onto something hard and slightly squishy he quickly fell over once the thing hissed at him before quickly slithering away back into the under brushes of the bushes into a hole.

Yogi inhaled calming down his fast beating heart from being startled by the snake. He pushed himself to his hands and knees and crawled the rest of the way to where he heard the loud crashes of the water hitting against water. He came to another bush and pushed it aside slightly and there it was. A water fall sliding down a large wall of rock. It was breath taking definitely better looking at it besides falling down it.

He leaned forward about to go through the wall of bushes but stopped once he saw a figure come from behind the water fall. His bare strong back facing Yogi. Pale skin was dripping wet from the clear water that rained down on him from the waterfall as he tilted his head back allowing his black hair to fall backwards moving away from his beautiful face.

Yogi's eyes widened as the boy turned around his eyes closed, his head still tilted back revealing his smooth pale masculine chest and stomach as his hands smoothed back his hair. The water slowly dripped down his chin and neck before going into lower regions that were hidden underneath the water. Black tribal tattoos lead from his chest to his elbows and Yogi recognized them as well as the face of the person standing in front of him.

Yogi was speechless as his eyes stayed transfixed onto Gareki's body. He was frozen to the spot too afraid to move away thinking he would make a loud noise that would surely alert his sensitive ears. Just looking at him made it obvious Gareki had sensitive senses higher than his own. What was he going to do, he had to do something or else he was going to look like a pervert watching Gareki clean himself.

Yogi watched Gareki tilt his downwards before he opened his eyes slowly. They averted over to the area he was in and for just that moment he swore he had a heart attack or something like it as he stood tensely still hoping to be invisible. Gareki was going to kill him. But even as he thought this Gareki's eyes stayed on the hidden spot he was in before slowly turning them away as if he hadn't seen him.

Yogi breathed again not realizing he had been holding his breath. Had he literally just walked away? No that couldn't be—Gareki had to of seen him unless he was more hidden in the thick bushes then he had realized, in that case he had gotten lucky. For sure if Gareki had seen him he wouldn't have just stared he would have immediately ripped him to shreds, Yogi was sure of it.

He looked away from Gareki's bare back seeing his tail surface from underneath the water before splashing back under in a quick flick. Yogi shook his head being ashamed of himself for watching. He needed to leave and now was the time, but it needed to be done quietly. He slowly backed up doing his best not to make any noise, if he made the slightest leaf brush against others he would stop and wait before moving back again.

He eyed Gareki who still had his back to him. Yogi was about to turn his body around to make his way past the tree but once he made the movement he snapped a twig, he froze immediately and turned towards Gareki who had quickly looked up, his ears twitching as he turned to where Yogi was. A not so friendly look on his face. Slight panic ran through Yogi''s body as Gareki walked over to where he was in a cautious manner.

"Whose there?" his voice was firm as he glared at the vegetation around him looking for the culprit who made the sudden noise. Yogi stayed quiet as Gareki surfaced from the water, he kept his eyes up to his face as not to look down at lower regions.

Gareki eyed everything around him before quickly grabbing his clothes and ran off into another part of bushes located on the other side of the waterfall. He had moved fast in a blink of an eye.

Yogi breathed again sighing through his nose before backing up slowly against a dark tree. He put his hand against it feeling it slightly vibrate. He turned to look at it in confusion examining it's dark bark as he grazed his finger tips against the hard rugged surface. That was odd, he didn't remember seeing such a tree here before. It still vibrated the sound becoming louder in his ears the longer he kept his hand against it. The tree was growling?

Yogi's eyes widened as he lost his breath slowly bringing his eyes up to the tree that didn't belong in the forest just from the looks of it. It stood out from the forest with it's dark color, it's leaves were wilted black and dead as it's body slowly morphed growing bigger into a bulky stature that stood way taller than his own. It's bark grew into pointed spikes along it's back forming as a shell. It's black beady eyes opened as it's teeth revealed thinly sharp.

Yogi fell back against his hands staring wide eyed at the monster as it leaned down towards him and roared in his face blowing his hair away from his forehead as it did. "Vileus will be please that I finally found you." his voice came out deep as he advance towards Yogi who prepared to pull out his sword but the monster gripped onto him holding him tightly in one hand before throwing him a few feet away onto the dirt ground.

Yogi groaned painfully as he fell to the ground his back sliding to a tree. He opened his eyes quickly only to see the beast was heading his way fast. Yogi didn't have time to grasp his sword as his strong grip tighten around his body picking him once more off the ground.

Yogi clenched his jaw struggling to move his arms that were stuck at his sides in the beasts grip." Let me go!"

"Not unless you give me the amulet." he ordered bringing Yogi close to his big face.

"That'll never happen!" Yogi yelled, stopping his struggle. The beast growled it's deep voice making it sound louder in his Yogi's ears." Then you die."

He lifted Yogi upwards about to slam his body to the ground but suddenly a whistle rung through the air stopping his movements and they both looked up towards a tree and there standing on a branch was Gareki his thumb and index finger pressed to his lips before dropping his hand away from his mouth to position it on his hip a serious look on his face not looking as if he were afraid of the beast at all even though it was way bigger than him.

"So what the hell's all this?" his voice rang out." You think you can just barge into this forest unwelcomed?" he summoned his glaive out of snow before twirling it with his finger tips.

The beast growled at him. "Stay out of this faerie! None of this is your business."

Gareki stopped twirling his weapon and placed the blade down hard on the branch he was standing on making it cut into the wood." Actually it's avatar," he said flatly. "But you were close and yes. . .this **is** my business considering you're a threat in this forest. Now I'm afraid you'll need to leave and uh drop the outsider you're holding."

The troll growled." What if I don't?" Gareki glared at him his eyes blazing a bright blue." You're really testing my patients right now aren't you, I guess we're going to need to do this the hard way. But it's okay because I'd prefer it this way than the easy one. Now, I'll ask you one more time." Yogi could see his fangs growing slightly longer as he spoke the next words.

" **Let. . .him. . . go."** Gareki clenched his glaive. The troll eyed him with his beady black eyes not complying with his request.

Gareki held the glaive in both hands before lunging forward in a blinding speed striking the blade right into the trolls head causing it to let go of Yogi dropping him to the ground with a thud. Gareki pulled out his blade and landed next to him keeping his eyes on the troll as it roared loudly." Run!" he ordered as he jumped away right as the troll tried to smash him with his fist.

Yogi got to his feet feeling the ground vibrate beneath him as he ran behind a tree not wanting to leave him behind. Gareki may have looked strong but this thing was way bigger then them both and he couldn't possibly face it alone. Yogi sighed concentrating his magic into the amulet around his neck blocking out the sounds of trees smashing as they broke from the troll pushing against them." Come on, come on focus!" Yogi muttered placing his hands around the amulet feeling his body glowing. The magic was definitely there but he would need more time to concentrate considering the loud noises happening around him, he hoped Gareki could hold out.

Gareki stuck his blade into a tree before swinging around it hopping to another branch bringing his weapon along with him as his feet dropped down onto the bark of the tree, he was trying to get away from the troll that was smashing the recent trees he had hoped onto before moving to the next. He turned around quickly cutting himself on the arm letting his blood drop onto the blade part of the glaive before summoning up a spell to use against the troll.

He held up the weapon before swiping the air with it causing large ice darts to appear crashing into the troll sending him back a few steps but he wasn't dead yet in fact he came back faster knocking the tree over that Gareki was currently standing on. Gareki turned around preparing to jump away but the troll wrapped a vine around his ankle pulling him back forcefully as he hung upside down in front of his eyes.

Gareki hissed at him his eyes still blazing bright blue." Don't think you've won." he leaned up and immediately threw a blast of ice towards his face freezing him on impact. He then cut the vine with his glaive and landed in a crouch before standing up.

He took a few steps back as the tree troll blindly tried to stomp on him. Gareki casted another spell making the blade of his weapon glow a light blue before he swiped it clean through the troll's legs cutting them both in half causing him to fall over. Gareki quickly jumped away as the troll landed in the spot he had just been in.

The troll laid there motionless on the ground. He was dead, at least that was what Gareki had thought. He turned away making his weapon disappear back into snow as he took a few steps forward only to twitch his ears as he heard something flying towards him from behind he didn't have time to react as he felt a sharp pain in his shoulder inject itself into his flesh making him stumble forward and pause before he quickly turned around to look at the troll as it got up with it's arms it quickly reached forward grabbing him by the head picking him up as he struggled against his big fist.

Yogi had finally summoned up enough magic he ran out from behind the tree and immediately saw what was happening right in front of him before unleashing his magic onto the troll. The ice on his face melted away as his magic hit against it. The troll gave out another angry roar before bringing it's hand up and slapped Yogi aside making him fall to the dirt ground losing the magic that flowed through his palms.

He quickly tried to get back up to his feet right as he turned and saw the troll throw Gareki's body aside. His back hit against a tree before he slid down it landing on the ground unmoving as the back of a large thorn stuck in his shoulder leaking a dark purple liquid. The thorn itself looking like it had come off the troll's back which had them growing on the surface of his shell.

"No, Gareki!" Yogi yelled. He brought his eyes back to the troll which was crawling it's way towards him. Yogi shook his head backing away step by step." How dare you?" Yogi's voice was deep with hate." He had nothing to do with this, you came here for me!"

"It was his choice to get in my way and he had it coming and so will you. Now let's make this quick. Hand me the amulet—"

"Over my dead body!" right as Yogi said this an invisible force went through him heading strait for the troll pushing him back with a strong force. Yogi stared at him in surprise, that hadn't been his magic he didn't have that ability. He turned around only to see Gabriel with his hands outstretched in front of him.

"You better be luck y that you have a faerie on your side." he stated before sending another invisible force towards the troll once it tried to reach for Yogi forcing it back again." Go help Gareki, I can handle this." his palms lit up a dark blue as he threw the smoky blue orbs at the troll, weakening it further while it was still on the ground.

Yogi ran over to Gareki kneeling down next to him before turning him on his back lifting him up by the back of his head. He had such a pained expression on his face and a feeling of pity crossed over Yogi as he howled him over his shoulder making a sprint for Gabriel's home. He looked back seeing Gabriel throw another blast of his magic at the troll that looked like it was about to die at any moment.

Once Yogi had gotten to Gabriel's home he quickly opened the door and ran inside placing Gareki on the couch, making sure to be careful about the thorn in his shoulder. He looked over him quickly. This was all his fault, the troll had been after him not Gareki. He had tried to help but it would have been better if he stayed out of it. Yogi was sure with his power over the amulet even if it was only half would have been strong enough on it's own to handle the troll. But deep down he knew that if Gareki hadn't of stepped in then maybe he would have been dead.

Yogi snapped his head up once he heard the door slam shut with Gabriel leaning his back against it. His yellow eyes found Yogi's." Where's Gareki?"

"He's here." Yogi stepped aside as Gabriel walked past him and stood over Gareki pulling him slightly to examine his shoulder. He shook his head." Ohh, this is not good." he stood back cracking his knuckles before going over to his book shelf and scouring through them with his finger.

"W-what's wrong with him?" Yogi asked looking from Gareki to him as he moved to the next book shelf before grabbing onto a big blue book looking at the cover than he opened it flipping through the pages.

"Apparently he's been injected a poison and soon he'll be experiencing pain all over his body, I'm familiar with this kind of poison so I would know. If I don't treat it quickly then he'll die," he said, walking over to Yogi after he found the spell he was looking for inside the book. Just as he did Gareki snapped his eyes open emitting a loud scream of pain as he gripped his sides.

Yogi jolted slightly by the sudden loud noise, quickly looking down at Gareki." You have to do something about this!"

"Believe me I am." he confirmed before placing the book down quickly. He pulled Gareki on his side so that the thorn was showing from his shoulder and he gripped onto it." I'm sorry but this may hurt a lot." Gabriel breathed." Brace yourself." he swiftly pulled out the thorn causing Gareki to scream louder if that was even possible.

He threw his head back clenching his jaw tightly together as he breathed harshly through his mouth."Breath Gareki, it'll be all over soon." Gabriel said softly as he dropped the thorn on the floor before pushing Gareki back onto his back bringing his hands over his chest letting them float over it as a hazy blue smoke left his hands. Closing his eyes he began to speak in an entirely different language, Yogi guessed he was performing the spell.

Gareki pursed his lips together as he closed his eyes tightly, gripping the couch with just as much firmness. "Just make it stop!" he groaned. He threw his head back again as his body shook he opened his eyes as they glowed that same light blue his mouth opened letting out a silent cry.

Yogi stayed staring at Gareki as Gabriel kept up his spell. Suddenly the same dark purple liquid he had seen on Gareki's shoulder came out through his mouth floating in mid air as Gabriel hovered his hand over his mouth in pulling motions as more of the poison came out from his throat soon gathering all of it.

"Can you bring me that jar over there?" Gabriel pointed over to his book shelf where a jar was sitting. Yogi grabbed it and handed it over to him watching him as he dropped the poison inside of it before screwing the cape on. He walked over and sat it down on the book shelf before turning back to them." Okay now comes the good part and also maybe painful. Take off your shirt Gareki."

Gareki sighed feeling only half of the pain in his body go away except the area where the thorn had entered. He sat up slowly before unbuttoning his shirt, hanging it over the top part of the couch. Yogi averted his eyes away from his lean chest and stomach only now remembering what he had seen Gareki doing earlier in the waterfall. He tried not to blush at the thought.

"Hey, you?" Gareki snapped him out of his thoughts, Yogi averted his eyes back to his face." What the hell were you even doing in the forest? You told me you were being pursued. The way it looked to me was as if you had a damn death wish walking out there alone like that." he sounded slightly angry or more so annoyed and Yogi wouldn't blame him, it had been stupid of him and he had let his guard down completely.

The mission back home was not supposed to be taken lightly and he treated it as such just by getting lost in this world's beauty. He was serious about getting home but it only seemed he kept getting caught up in things that made him distracted or held back from reaching his main goal.

"I wasn't thinking." Yogi replied plainly.

Gareki squinted at him." Well not thinking will get your ass killed, remember what I said about this place the moment you came into this world. It's dangerous, keep that in your damn head. No body's going to keep saving your ass each and every time you get yourself into trouble. You may of had Avia do that but don't expect me to."

Yogi couldn't help but smile at that." Thanks. . .you know for what you did. It's surprising that you're actually helping me now even though last night you wanted to kill me."

Gareki blew out a quick breath." Don't let it happen again, save your own ass next time and just because you're not the outsider I thought you were don't think I've forgotten that you made me banished from my own kingdom." Yogi still kept the smile on his face watching as Gabriel touched the dark purple bruise on his back from where the thorn had been with a light green sap substance. Gareki's eyes returned to their natural shade of blue as he leaned his head downwards enjoying the cold feeling of the medicine.

"This should heal you quickly but you are going to be weak for a while unless we get you some quick energy back which of course needs to be blood. I don't think I've seen any willow beast in this area for you to feed on so this will be a problem."

Gareki eyed Yogi and Yogi eyed him back before looking at Gabriel." He can drink mine, he did it last night and luckily he didn't kill me." he turned to Gareki." I knew you could hold back."

"It was hard, even after you lost consciousness I was so tempted to drink more but. . ." he shrugged without finishing his sentence." That'll work." Gabriel said eyeing the both of them back and forth.

Yogi inhaled a breath as Gareki pointed towards his arm, he offered it to him feeling his fingers wrap around it as he held it to his mouth in which it opened, his fangs immediately growing long once more before penetrating his skin without hesitation. Yogi cringed at the pain feeling his blood once more pull in the direction towards Gareki's mouth as he closed his blue eyes. A few seconds passed and Yogi bit his lip as he felt Gareki's teeth slowly pull out of his skin growing smaller as he leaned away breathing in quietly he then wiped the corner of his mouth as blood dripped.

A mesmerized look crossing over his face as he stared at the fire place as if in thought about something. Gabriel snapped his fingers in front of his eyes catching his attention. " And as said last night. We will speak about the realm gates, I've done the task to make you a map of the places you'll need to pass to get there but I'm sure your journey wont be easy not while being pursued like you say he is Gareki." he walked over to his book shelf and pulled out a long sheet of paper, handing it to Gareki who looked at it noticing it was blank.

"There's nothing on it."

"Not for long," Gabriel said, bringing his fist to it before sprinkling blue powder over it suddenly making the map appear." Voilà." he presented. Gareki looked over the map seeing a lot of places he didn't remember but most he did know and those places were the dangerous ones." I guess we should head out now."


	14. The Gate To Laisra

Yogi looked out the small window, examining over the forest. It was still and quiet nothing shifted, only the wind. He was looking specifically for another one of those tree trolls but another didn't show neither did he see any dark/dead trees that didn't blend in with the blue vegetation surrounding them. But still they all remained vigilant.

He took another bite out of the biscuit Gabriel had provided him to eat saying that it was safe for him to digest since it wasn't necessarily faerie food just mixed dough with butter. How long had it been since he had eaten anything? He had already spent 3 days in this world so it had to of been that long since he had gone without food, how hadn't he noticed it sooner?

Yogi finished the biscuit before turning towards Gareki who was staring down at his arm where a long cut was. It looked like it had been done by a blade. Had he cut himself during the fight? Yogi thought continuing to watch him. In his other hand appeared a thin wand of ice before he slowly brought it to his skin a glow appearing as soon as it made contact as he trailed it over the cut, it made a burning sound forming a curled black line creating a tribal tattoo on the inner part of his forearm.

It was similar to the ones on both of his shoulders but it was smaller. Yogi frowned slightly in thought. Were those tattoos made from injuries in his past? If so then he definitely had a way to conceal them, they were beautiful and well designed. He guessed this was some sort of way of healing himself, well he was talented while doing it, he made it look effortless.

Yogi brought his eyes up to look at his face, seeing the small pained and concentrated look as he glared down at his arm finally pulling away the wand as he took a steady breath. Apparently it was painful too but Gareki quickly brushed it off like it had been nothing but a measly bee sting. At just that moment Yogi thoughts wondered to what kinds of pain he had to go through while being prince losing his father? He acted so cold and aloof that it seemed like he shrugged everything off except his father's death.

Death, that much they had in common but everything else was a question. Yogi figured if they were going to be traveling together then they might as well get to know each other for trust reasons.

Gabriel finished putting cream on the back of his shoulder before backing up looking at his handy work. "Okay, that should do it." Gareki sighed standing up from the couch. "Finally." He reach for his shirt putting it back on before buttoning it up. "Night will be falling in a few hours so we better make it to the gate before that happens."

That peaked Yogi's interest just by hearing it.

"Wait, what do you mean night will be falling in a few hours isn't it morning still?" He asked, taking a step towards him. He could have sworn he had just woken up an hour ago. Gareki straitened his shirt after buttoning it up eyeing Yogi from the corner of his eye before looking away. "In this world night falls faster. The day doesn't last but a few hours so like I said we need to hurry, besides you **_are_** being pursued and there are more of them coming after you, I doubt Vileous only sent one."

Yogi watched him pick up the map looking over it. "So what's all this about a gate?" Gareki looked towards Gabriel. "You explain it to him, I still need to look over this thing."

Yogi turned to Gabriel expectedly.

Gabriel looked at him and crossed his arms." Right, the gate leads to Laisra it's another part of this forest but it's been locked off for years now, but the gate itself hasn't aged, the thing is the gate stands for a purpose to obviously keep people out but it's other job is to give riddles to those who really wish to get through to the other side. It's like a game to find a special key that will only open that gate. But if you do get inside the forest just know that the forest isn't just a normal forest, it's a dark one. It messes with your head and you feel as if you're being watched from every angle, pretty creepy if you ask me. It'll even try to make you go crazy."

Just listening to him explain it sounded creepy." Is that all?" he questioned. Gabriel shook his head." You and Gareki will both be facing dangers on your trip and this will be your second. That forest will eat you alive. . .but the thing is you mustn't let it."

Yogi stared at him before slowly nodding. "Okay."

"Alright," said Gareki, rolling up the map before making it disappear with his magic. "let's head out, we're wasting time and daylight."

Yogi agreed both of them walking over to the door as Gabriel opened it letting them step out as he stood in the door way. He crossed his arms. "Well this was fun, but I suppose it must come to an end."

Both of them turned to face him. Gareki took a step towards him. "Thanks for helping us out, I owe you for saving me." He had said it seriously.

Gabriel smiled before he sighed lightly. "Ohhh, as much as I would like to take advantage of your offer I simply cannot, I don't want it to be an I owe you situation but I'll take your gratitude. Oh and before I forget you need to come and see me more often, it's been a while since we've chatted."

"Well that should be a lot easier now since I'm banished." He glared at Yogi before looking back at Gabriel. "I'll think about that." He turned away and began walking on the path putting his hands into his pockets. Gabriel looked after him still keeping a smile on his face. "He's so cold but that's what I should expect from an Avatar, they are ice people."

Yogi hadn't missed the cold look Gareki had just given him, he wasn't surprised that he was still upset about it. He would have been angry if he were in the same situation. He sighed before turning back to Gabriel. "I should thank you too, for one you didn't kill me when we first met and two you made Gareki help me with getting me back home. I wish there were some other way I could repay you but a thank you is all I got right now."

Gabriel nodded in appreciation. "From the start I sensed that you were good unlike those other outsiders I've come across. But just do me a favor." He looked at Gareki's back before averting his eyes back to Yogi's. "Take care of him okay? It's been a while since he's left his kingdom and I doubt he knows everything about surviving alone."

"Well, neither do I."

"I know but you two can work together, two minds work better than one you know."

"I'll definitely go through with it, I just need him to trust me even after everything I've caused him to lose." Yogi claimed eyeing Gareki's back.

"He may be harsh to you now but I know he'll forgive you sooner or later— maybe. With a guy like him it's always confusing." he turned around and went back inside his house before shutting the door. Yogi took a few steps back watching it. Suddenly he felt the ground vibrate beneath him and he looked down only to see that tree roots were making their way towards his house. The branches from above leaned downwards and hid his house from view with the leaves. Yogi blinked in surprise but realized that Gabriel had probably done it in order to protect his home from tree trolls.

He turned around and caught up with Gareki, stopping a few feet behind him. He looked up at the sky noticing the sun wasn't as high as it had been earlier which meant dark was falling. He looked back down eyeing Gareki's back before speaking. "So I'm guessing. . . you two are good friends?"

Gareki didn't turn to look at him as he walked ahead. "Yeah, you can say that."

"How'd you meet?"

"A long, long time ago when I was a kid, I snuck away from home and we would always meet up." He replied flatly. Yogi lifted an eyebrow. "A long, long time ago? You make it sound like it was years ago even though you're young."

This time Gareki looked behind himself to give Yogi an odd look, he then turned back around." How old are you?"

"19. Why?" Gareki shrugged not answering. Yogi stared at the back of his head in confusion." Okay, so how old are you?"

"Humph, older than you that's for sure." he said in a low voice but Yogi still heard him. He walked up until he was walking beside him." That's dodging the question."

Gareki eyed him." Are you seriously asking me all these questions in order to start some conversation between us?" Yogi lifted his shoulders." I'm trying to get to know you that's all."he dropped them.

"Are you serious?" he had said it like it was the most strangest thing he had ever heard. Yogi nodded." I don't see the problem in trying to get to trust one another." He stared at him and Yogi stared right back. Gareki sighed. "You are one strange outsider, you're definitely not like the others."

Yogi gave him a small smile, glad that Gareki finally thought something different about him compared to the outsiders he had experienced in the past." So, you going to answer my question?" he watched him roll his eyes before he answered." Fine if you want to know so bad, I'm 118 years old." The smile on Yogi face disappeared as he stared at him in surprise. "A-are you j—"

"Tell me by looking at my face if I'm joking?" Gareki interjected as he looked at Yogi with a serious expression. Yogi looked at his face and saw no signs of humor at all. It looked like he never smiled which was sad in a way. He shook his head. "You're not joking are you?"

Gareki looked away. "Clearly not."

"That's the same as my people even though we age every 10 years we usually live up to the hundreds but how does it work with your kind I mean you look so young like any average teenage boy around 18."

"I know, but my ageing is up to every five years and my race usually lives up to thousands of years, I'm going to be looking like this for a very long time." He stated.

"That sounds amazing, it's kind of like you're immortal."

Gareki shook his head. "I'm far from it, I can die just as easily as you can. But the thing about my ageing difference from yours is that I live longer than you."

"I still find it impressive."

"Gareki stopped walking and sighed before facing him. "You find everything in this world impressive or strange and different, you're not used to anything around here, but you will be and you'll soon understand what a dangerous world you just so happened to fall into, trust me on that. Word of advice, don't get sucked into everything you see." He turned away from him and began walking again leaving Yogi to stare after him in confusion. He looked up at the sky again noticing it was darker than before.

Gabriel was right, Gareki was confusing at times. One moment he was talking as if things were okay between them but then he suddenly got all serious. Was it going to be this way all the time? Yogi caught up and walked beside him again. He kept silent for a moment before speaking again.

"Do you mind me asking about you?" He said quietly. Gareki stared strait ahead not answering him for a few minutes. "No, since you've already done it then you might as well ask me more questions."

Yogi stayed quiet for a few more seconds thinking of something to ask him. "You don't need to act so serious around me, Gareki. I get the fact that some of it came from your mother but, why do you act like it? You can choose your own way of how you act towards people."

Gareki slowly crossed his arms over his chest looking as if he were thinking about it." I wasn't born this way, I was. . . different." He muttered sounding surprisingly passionate about it. Yogi noticed he was putting emotions into his words instead of speaking in his flat tone. "I used to show my emotions all the time not just anger or aloofness like I do towards you, I used to show that I was happy and every other emotion you wouldn't have expected me to have when you see me now." he paused to bite his lip before continuing.

"It's true that I learned how to act harsh and intimidating because of my mother teaching me. But that had been once my father had been killed. Something just broke inside of me once I found out and I guess from that day my emotions weren't the same. I changed. . . and I never really paid any attention to the way I was acting until you said something to me just now."

Yogi stared at him feeling glad that he was speaking about something such as this. He was starting to believe Gareki had no other emotions but after hearing him speak like this made him think other wise and he was relieved. There might be a chance to get his old personality back instead of the unemotional one he had now. "I hope you don't mind me saying this but Avia told me your father was killed by Outsiders but I'm still kind of confused about them, why would they kill your father?"

"Of course Avia told you." Gareki shook his head muttering incoherent words under his breath. "Outsiders are humans or magicians who have the ability to form portals through realms which is why I called you an Outsider considering you came out of one and it's clear to me now that you're not a human you're a magician. I thought you had made it yourself not some evil lord like I had seen in your memory. They come into realms and some times kill the innocent and other times they steal important jewels or treasures. My parents fell for one of their tricks once, which is also a reason why I wanted you dead when we first met because I thought you were trying to trick me. My father was tricked and he was killed because of it." he said the last part darkly his demeanor suddenly changing from warm to frigid all over again.

Yogi could feel the cold coming off of him, he had a angry look on his face as he walked. They both continued through the forest. "I know exactly what a sensitive topic losing someone is. Sorry for asking."

"It's. . .fine I guess," he said looking at the trees around them. Changing the subject. "What about you? That amulet around your neck has me curious. You said it was important but why?"

"You didn't see it in my memories?"

Gareki eyed him side ways. "If I had I wouldn't be asking." He turned away again continuing to look at the trees, grazing his fingers over them.

Yogi touched the amulet with the tips of his fingers." This amulet has a history, my parents used it to save our kingdom before my sisters and I were born, using it against the same dark threat that's come back to claim it and my kingdom. Vileus wants this, even if he has half he wants the entire thing which explains why he's sending henchman after me. I think this is the key to get my kingdom back once I get back home. But I need to get my hands on the other half first. . . but I wouldn't know what to do with it once I get it back that's the problem."

Gareki dropped his hand away from a tree, turning towards Yogi before stopping his walk." Maybe if you put them back together than everything will go back to the way it was." Yogi paused for a second in realization before grabbing both of Gareki's shoulders and shaking him slightly." That has to be it, I think you just helped me realize it Gareki, thank you!" Gareki looked at him as if he were crazy. "Can you get your hands off." Yogi quickly removed his hands from his shoulders." Sorry," he said slowly. "I got over excited."

Gareki cocked his head slightly. "Uh-huh good for you— but **never** do that again." He stepped away from him straitening his shirt before continuing his walk down the path looking at the trees as if looking for something. He made the map appear in his hands before unrolling it, examining it for something.

"I just don't know why I hadn't thought of it before," Yogi said in thought before he eyed what Gareki was doing. "What are you looking for?"

"Hold this." he said ignoring his question, pushing the map to his chest forcefully before walking over to a tree examining it closely. Yogi watched him as he walked in a circle looking at the tree as if it had something inside of it.

"X marks the spot." He whispered. "Which means we're near the gate."


	15. The Chase

**Music choice— Zedd— I Will Find You**

 **Silent Love Is calling Faith**

 **To Shatter Me Through Your Hallways**

 **Into Echoes You Can Feel and Rehears The way You Heal**

* * *

Gaareki trailed his hand over the X carved into the tree, more like it had been burned into the tree's bark. He stood there for more than a few seconds eyeing the tree strangely before walking back over to Yogi and grabbed the map back before unrolling it, looking down at it.

Yogi watched him before moving his eyes down to the map as well. He wondered what Gareki was looking at but when he looked it showed a tree with an X that lead onto a path leading to a gate, he guessed that was the gate they needed to be getting to before nightfall. But why before nightfall? would something be happening?

Gareki quickly rolled the map back up before making it disappear with the same method of magic." We need to move fast." he quickly walked forward, pushing aside leaning branches from the trees above. Yogi quickly followed him having to move fast because of Gareki's speed walking."

"Wait, why do we need to move fast?"

Gareki shoved aside more leaves as he stepped over weeds and small bushes." We need to get there before nightfall. Haven't you ever heard of a dark forest before?"

"Gareki, I live where the sun is shining almost all the time, I've never experienced being inside one." Yogi claimed dodging a hanging branch that Gareki almost hit him with.

"You're lucky than but at the same time you're not."

Yogi held up a hanging branch." What do you mean?"

"You have to have some kind of experience if you're going inside, I've been inside before so I know what to expect but you, let's just say it won't be easy. If it gets dark while we're inside than all hell will break lose and dark spirits of the forest will try and kill us, lets just hope we make it until morning."

"Are you telling me all of them will just disappear when the sun comes up?"

"Exactly," he replied flatly." That's why it's called a dark forest, everything bad happens when night falls." Yogi didn't say anything he thought hard about Gareki's words. So they needed to hurry and get inside the forest and make it out before the sun fell. He looked up at the sky the sun was falling fast. Given a few minutes than it wouldn't be above the horizon anymore. This was bad and they still needed to find the key once they got to the gate. It was obvious they weren't going to make it through Laisra before the sun fell.

Yogi clenched his jaw slightly just thinking about the dangers they would face, he remembered what Gareki had told him about this world being dangerous and now he was taking his words seriously. But it was no time for fear, they needed to make it through this. He continued to follow Gareki on the thin path of over grown weeds and plants it was then he noticed everything was getting darker. He looked down noticing the leaves were turning shriveled and black as they continued to walk closer to the gate. He frowned in confusion looking up again only to see a fog rolling in making it slightly hard to see what was ahead of him.

But he could still hear Gareki's feet moving against the crunched leaves as the trees had suddenly become naked of leaves. He looked around everything was becoming fogged over and dead looking as if some kind of disease for vegetation had passed through the area. It was sort of heart chilling considering the trees and plants were once glowing brightly at night but now they were dead and shriveled , it was strange and sad at the same time. He turned to look at Gareki's back side. "Gareki, is this supposed to happen?" he asked." The forest being dead and all?"

Gareki turned to him as he waved a hand trying to fan away the fog but that didn't do much to help as it only became thicker." Yeah, it means we're getting close to Laisra and the gate." he turned away looking forward." Your eyes are glowing violate, by the way." he stated nonchalantly.

Yogi blinked just now remembering that his eyes could do that he had been too distracted by everything else that he had forgotten." Yeah, it happens whenever I get into darkness, it helps me see better."

"Have they always done that?"

"Of course, it happens to all of my people." Yogi shrugged. "You're not the only one." Gareki said before raising his hands up close to his face forming a hand symbol before closing his eyes as he continued walking—surprisingly not stumbling over. Yogi felt an icy wind past right through him as it swirled around Gareki's body chilling his heart just like it had done the first time they met. He looked at him curiously as a blue light came from the tattoos on his shoulders making them glow brightly. He then opened his eyes they were glowing a bright blue as well. Gareki kept the hand symbol up as he continued to walk.

Yogi stared at his tattoos in awe, he didn't know Gareki had a skill such as this. He had guessed his tattoos had more of a skill than just being permanently on his skin but definitely nothing like this.

"This is just a performance spell I'm casting to locate the gate, I can't see a damn thing with all this fog."Gareki stated. Yogi nodded slowly, still staring at him in awe. Gareki didn't seem to notice him staring still as he focused on performing his spell. Yogi eyed his face, still feeling a little surprised and amazed. Was it possible for a person to look so good while performing a spell? He didn't know what he was thinking but he didn't deny it or push the thought away. Gareki was simply too attractive or it must of been the bite he had given him last night that made him think this way.

Yogi wasn't sure anymore but he felt 100 percent sure it had been his emotions telling him this. Yogi looked away from him and shook his head moving a hand through his blonde hair. Seriously what was he thinking? Gareki was an entirely different person, no he wouldn't want some one from out of this world. It was best to get the thought out of his head before things got awkward while being near him.

"There it is." Gareki said snapping Yogi out of his thoughts as he jogged forward towards the big medal gate. Yogi followed him both of them coming to a stop in front of the black gate. It stood tall with thin bars some being curled across it, Yogi could see there was a key whole in the center but of course the key wasn't anywhere to be seen, there was always a catch in these types of situations.

To the sides of the gate were tan brick walls stretching to a long length that made it look endless but most of the fog blocked it out making it uncertain how long the wall lasted. But he was sure it continued so it could keep people out. But one thing he almost missed was a head figure on the top center of the gate with it's eyes closed it was the same color as the gate itself.

Yogi looked inside the gate seeing Laisra for the first time and he knew just by looking at it it was a dangerous place. Everything was dead inside and dark with fog. He swore he felt a chill run up his back causing goose bumps to roll down his arms. He took a few steps back away from the gate feeling as if he were going to be pulled roughly inside.

Gareki sighed still performing his spell. "Don't let it scare you. It feeds off of fear, but the worst thing about it is it'll do everything in it's power to scare the hell out of you just to get close enough and kill. I guess it's safe to say I've fallen under that same spell once I was inside, I managed to survive but it's hard to overcome your deepest fears. You shouldn't let it win."

Yogi nodded appreciating the advise, they both quickly looked up as a deep voice suddenly spoke from the head that was attached to the gate. It's eyes opened to appear all white without an iris's or pupils.

"Two more victims with a death wish." it's voice boomed loudly. Gareki took a step forward." We don't have a death wish, we came here to pass through Laisra."

"I cannot just give you the key if you do not wish your life apon passing." the gate stated.

"I've been here before, you won't give us the key you'll give us a riddle to figure out then we'll be able to pass, I know your rules, gate." Gareki spoke sternly. The gate gave out a loud deep laugh as both Gareki and Yogi stared up at it seriously. It's laughter seeming to echo all around the area they were in. Gareki rolled his eyes as the gate's laughter finally died down." Are you done?" he asked, sounding irritated.

"You're an impassion one aren't you?" the gate questioned." Fine I'll give you the riddle so I can be done with the both of you."

"Good." Gareki muttered under his breath glad that he would be done wasting time with the gate as well.

"It is where you often find buried treasure as you say X marks the spot but this will be where the hidden key will be located. But where exactly? Either under ground or inside something wooden which will it be? Either retrace or stay?"

Gareki lifted an eyebrow. The riddle was different from last time but it was simple to figure out. It was obviously back inside the tree they had passed earlier with the X. He had kept an eye on it so he could remember exactly where it was just in case.

"It's the tree with an X." he said aloud.

The gate smiled." Yes, but which tree." Gareki opened his mouth to give the answer but he heard the earth shift behind him. He turned around and saw a tree that wasn't dead but it had an X on it too looking the exact same like the tree he was about to answer. Suddenly trees began to pop up out of the ground all with X's on them.

Gareki's eyebrows creased together as he looked at all of them before turning around to the gate." So you're trying to trick us?" the gate's smile widened

"You didn't expect me to give you an easy riddle but not make it challenging did you?" it asked playfully.

Gareki sighed." Guess not, but we don't have time for this."

"Then I would begin searching right away if I were you."

"Fine," Gareki said turning away from him looking at all the trees that all looked the exact same. Yogi stepped beside him before pointing to his right. " I'll go search over there." he stepped forward only to be stopped abruptly by Gareki's arm that was held up in front of his chest." Hold on, something's not right. These trees aren't correct."

Yogi looked at him." What are you talking about?"

"The one I touched before we entered the fog has to be the one we need, it's the real one, all of these must be fakes, they're dead he only used magic to make them appear alive."

As soon as the words left his lips all the trees with X's on them disappeared into black dust blowing away with the wind. Gareki nodded turning to look at Yogi." I knew it, we have to head back to the tree we saw first." he turned to the gate." We'll be back."with that said he grabbed Yogi's hand and quickly ran in the direction they had just come from. His tattoos and eyes still glowing a bright blue for him to be able to see.

"H-how are we going to find the key once we get back to the tree?" Yogi asked, running as fast as he could without tripping as Gareki pulled him, tightly gripping his hand. Yogi felt a warm cold sensation go up his arm at Gareki's touch.

"We dig, that's what we'll do." he answered not looking back.

They made it all the way through the forest and fog before breaking out into the sun. Surprisingly it was still up but just barely. Yogi leaned against a tree with his hand placed against it panting as they finally came to a stop. Gareki dropped his hand as he slowly walked over to the real tree with an X engraved into it.

He kneeled down looking at the ground as he brought his finger tips to it, his eyes squinting as he used his magic to make a hole in the ground. He lifted his hand away from the ground a big ball of dirt floating in front of him as he used his levitating spell, he pushed his hand and the dirt flew in a direction landing on plants. He looked inside the hole but saw nothing.

Yogi caught his breath and stood next to Gareki looking inside the hole as well." It's not there." he breathed. Gareki's shoulders dropped as he stood up putting a hand on his hip as he thought about the riddle. "I thought he was saying it was underground possibly in a wooden box."

Yogi stared at the tree in thought." He did say it could be buried or in something wooden." he walked over to the tree where the X was and placed his hand onto it focusing his magic into that hand. When it was enough he pulled it away and formed it into a fist as he threw it forward punching the tree hard breaking the bark and wood entirely, he had made a fist sized hole. Pulling his hand out he opened his fist and came out with a golden key with a floral design on it's holder." I found it," he said surprised. Turning to look at Gareki as he held it up for him to see.

Gareki opened his mouth to say something but suddenly the ground shook. They both fell against a tree almost losing their footing. Yogi looked at the ground." What's happening?!"

"As if I know—" the ground beneath them cracked open revealing three bulky earth monsters made entirely of dark grey rocks with grass growing on their backs and arms. Their eye's glowing red as they immediately found Yogi their eyes settling on the amulet around his neck. One of them roared in a deep voice causing it to reverberate against the ground.

Both Yogi and Gareki covered their ears at the loud sound waiting for it to stop and as it did three of the beasts pulled themselves out of the ground running strait for Yogi. Yogi pulled his hands away from his ears, looking up right in time to see one of the monsters pull it's hand back aiming to grab him but before it made contact Gareki shoved him out of the way telling him to run into the forest.

He then jumped upwards completely missing the hand right where he had been a second ago. Gareki landed on the back of the monster's knuckles before jumping down and ran back into the foggy forest after Yogi, quickly catching up to him. "Don't tell me that these are monsters from that dark lord again?"

"Vileus you mean, and yes. I think they are."

"How'd they know we were here?!" Gareki yelled hearing trees snap loudly behind them as the earth monsters trampled their ways through the forest.

Yogi shoved aside hanging leaves as they both ran." I think they tracked me because of the amulet around my neck— now that I think about it that's probably how that tree troll found me in the Lumines Forest/ Wisp Forest!"

"Would it be wrong of me to say for you to just get rid of that thing," Gareki snapped, clenching his jaw as he looked down at his hands forming hand symbols for a spell. Yogi looked at him with a glare." How can you say that, yes it would be wrong. This is important to me!"

"Yeah! let's see if it gets us killed! Now duck!" Yogi leaned forward ducking out of the way as Gareki formed a long ice blade swiping it over Yogi's head before cutting the dead trees around them. they all toppled over blocking the path behind them so the earth monsters could be held back. He knew it wouldn't last long, they could break right through it, but it would spare Yogi and himself sometime to get a distance away from them.

They both heard them roar loudly behind them apparently they weren't happy about that last move Gareki had pulled."I hope you can run fast." Gareki said taking a look behind them. Yogi took a look also and immediately gaped as the beasts broke away the trees like they had been nothing. Despite them being made of rock they still ran fast gaining speed behind them.

The thudding of their feet hitting the ground was loud reverberating inside Yogi's chest as his heart thudded with adrenaline. He focused his magic into both his hands forming two orbs of magic in his palms before turning around half way, throwing one of his blasts of light at one of the monsters sending it crashing against another causing them to fall back but there was still one chasing after them.

It grabbed a hold of a tree ripping it from the earth before throwing it at them. Yogi gasped." Gareki, incoming!" they both stopped abruptly and faced the flying tree heading there way. Gareki formed a blast of ice in his hand before they both threw there magic at the tree. Both of their powers combining together as it made contact blowing the tree apart into tiny wooden chips, an invisible force going right through them as it did. Yogi felt the wind blow past them moving his hair away from his forehead.

"Let's go," Gareki said. Both of them turned and began running again.

"I guess our magic is stronger when used together." Yogi stated.

"I guess it is." Gareki replied. They both continued running dodging trees and hoping over plants all the while hearing the earth monsters still chasing after them, they sounded way closer now. Yogi was sure the other two had gotten up and were thirsty for revenge from him throwing his magic against them. But luckily in the short distance he could see the gate.

The monsters roared behind them as they became more persistent in the chase." Give me the key." Gareki ordered. Yogi reached it out of his shirt before handing it over. Gareki held onto it tightly. They made it out of the forest but still were being chased by a few feet behind. The ground shaking tremendously as the earth monsters came closer behind them.


	16. Under The Taking

**Muisci Choice—Flyleaf— Bury Your Heart**

 **Gold, Gold** **Bones Bones**

 **Under Platinum Headstones**

 **You're So Cold As You Sit There Alone**

 **Selling Your Bright Ideas**

 **And Paying Some One To Answer Your Phone**

* * *

Gareki quickly entered the key into the lock and pushed it open. Yogi ran inside followed by Gareki who closed the gate and locked it quickly right as the monsters all shoved against it pushing the gate against him knocking him off his feet. He fell against Yogi causing them to both fall.

They both rolled down a small hill getting themselves dizzy as they finally came to a complete stop. Both of them panted heavily from the adrenaline coursing through their veins and every muscle. Yogi waited a few seconds to feel for anything broken but nothing was, luckily. He pushed himself to his hands and knees, opening his eyes only to notice he was on top of Gareki who still had his eyes closed trying to catch his breath through his parted lips.

Yogi stared down at the innocent look that had crossed over his face as he breathed. He paused frozen in place as he couldn't help but stare at him. His eyes trailing over his parted lips revealing his fangs, suddenly a feeling of wanting him to sink his fangs into his neck again surfaced into his mind and he immediately pushed the thought out of his head. Maybe he had been affected by Gareki biting him?

Gareki reached a slow hand to his head rubbing it before sitting up coming face to face with Yogi as he opened his eyes looking surprised by the close proximity, the innocent look diminishing. He paused looking strait into Yogi's eyes. Suddenly he felt a jolt go through his body pushing him foreword slightly as his eyes widened in surprise. It felt like something had pushed it's way inside of his body, staying there. Gareki lifted a hand to his head rubbing it again as a confused look came over his face. "Are you okay," Yogi asked hesitantly, noticing his unease.

Gareki did a retake before scooting himself away from Yogi standing up quickly as he dusted himself off. " What were you just doing?" he demanded ignoring his question, his tattoos and eyes still glowing brightly especially against the darkness and fog surrounding them.

Yogi got to his feet as well putting his hands up defensively." Nothing, believe me." suddenly Yogi felt a strong jolt push him foreword making him lean forward slightly. He leaned back upwards feeling dizzy for a second as he put a hand to his head dropping it back to his side after a few seconds of waiting for it to pass. What was that just now? It felt as if some invisible force had just gone through him.

Gareki gave him a cautious glare not seeming to take much notice to his stumbling. " Remember that I still don't trust you, you may have proved that you weren't the outsider I thought you were but just know that you'll still be nothing worth trusting over." he spat angrily.

Yogi felt offended by his words but he was used to them by now but he couldn't help the sudden urge of anger flowing through him pushing him to say something back." You think I trust you taking me to this so called realm gates? For all I know you could be taking me completely somewhere different just to kill me. You said it yourself you wanted me dead the moment you first saw me. Whose to say you don't anymore, you still do."

Gareki picked up a stick and threw it at him hard watching it hit his face leaving a splatter of dirt. Yogi glared at him. "What the hell was that for?" he reached up and wiped the dirt from his cheek.

Gareki lifted an accusing finger at him his jaw set tightly." That's not my intentions ungrateful ass! You think I would waste my time taking you all the way out here risking my own life just to kill you, and you honestly think I would get myself banished just to go through with it, you're way off!" he yelled picking up a small rock before throwing it at his chest. " I would have done it already!"

Yogi stared at him angrily feeling his emotions power the amulet around his neck." Ungrateful— you're the one who should be ungrateful, you may have been banished but at least you're still here in your own world not being me who has to deal with a person like you with a terrible personality. You always stay cooped up in your own stupid emotions thinking everything is at a lost because your father died— at least you still have your mother, Avia and Gabriel all the people who I know care about you. Why can't you see that you still have people by your side—"

Gareki came up to him shoving him hard before coming up close to his face, his eyes glowing fiercely."You know nothing about me stop acting like you do, and don't you dare bring any of those people into this. This is between me and you." he seethed.

Yogi gave him a hard look the anger inside of him building up."I'll bring them into this if I want, but back to the topic of you wanting to kill me, admit it. You want to don't you?"

Gareki clenched his jaw tighter if possible." You are such a piece of shit, if I wanted to kill you than I honestly would have done it already—not save your damn life while that tree troll was looking for your selfish ass." he shook his head right as he snapped his fingers." You know what— I should have let him kill your ass. Finish you right on the spot. In fact I should have killed you last night when you let me drink your blood you're the ungrateful one here, I could have killed you so many times but I didn't."

Yogi squinted his eyes."And I should have let him kill you when he poisoned you!" Before Gareki could get another word out Yogi unleashed a powerful blast of magic against him from his amulet. Watching as he flew backwards hitting the ground before rolling to a stop. Just as he had done it he immediately regretted it. What had come over him? He had felt so angry suddenly but now the emotion had completely disappeared being replaced with regret and fear. He shook his head staring at Gareki's unmoving body laying on the ground." What did I just do?"

Suddenly Yogi felt a burning sensation all over his body and he heaved over feeling something push it's way out of his throat. He opened his mouth and gave a painful groan as something inside of his body pushed itself forward towards his throat, he felt like throwing up but something way bigger was coming out. Yogi felt fingers push his mouth open wide from inside just as a shadowed ghostly figure slithered itself out landing on the ground before slithering away, disappearing into the dark forest.

Yogi coughed harshly feeling like he had chocked but he could still breathe. He had seen it, what the hell had that been just now? He felt panicked that thing had been inside of him but now he felt all the anger he had felt seconds before diminish completely like it hadn't happened in the first place. He feared something had possessed both of them to argue, he hadn't wanted to say any of those words to Gareki which was the freakiest part about it. Whatever that thing had been it must have gone inside his mind and turned him against Gareki.

He slowly got to his feet his body feeling normal again as he walked over to Gareki. He stared down at him worriedly before falling to his knees, his hands hovered over Gareki hesitant to touch him afraid to see if he was dead. That magic he had thrown at him had been strong. Possibly his strongest attack.

He placed his hands on Gareki's shoulders shaking him slightly." Get up, come on." he said to him. Gareki stayed unconscious for a moment before he finally shifted and pushed himself up with his hands. His eyes opened moving to look at Yogi's hand placed on his shoulder before they trailed up his arm to his face. But as soon as he took a glimpse at Yogi anger crossed over his face." You're going to regret ever doing that!" his fangs grew long as his teeth bared.

Yogi stood up backing away from him as slight fear took over him. He wasn't afraid of Gareki but now he found that small fear had planted it's way inside of him. Gareki got to his feet right as he made his glaive appear in his hand, he lunged for Yogi quickly.

Yogi held his arm up making a shield right as Gareki collided his blade with it. He grit his teeth together as he repeatedly stabbed at his shield. His hits becoming stronger as it began to crack." Stop Gareki, listen to me." Yogi said, moved away as his shield broke completely, shattering into tiny golden pieces. But Gareki advanced forward following him. He held his blade up and moved it downwards preparing to stab Yogi but Yogi formed another shield just in time." Wait!"

"Don't tell me to fucking wait, I'm going to kill your ass!" Gareki said angrily holding his glaive up as the blade turned blue he then pushed it through the shield almost hitting Yogi if he hadn't of moved out of the way in time.

Gareki growled ripping his weapon from the ground as he brought his eyes towards Yogi who was staring at him in shock." Why are you running, what happened to all that shit you had to say to me? You're a coward and there's nothing more I hate than a coward."

He walked over to Yogi the blade on his weapon still glowing blue as he held it up preparing to stab him once again. But just as he was about to do it his body began to burn all over. Gareki took a quick step back as he felt an odd sensation move itself inside his stomach and chest. It felt like an invisible force was pulling itself out towards his throat. He immediately dropped his weapon and fell to his hands and knees as he heaved over.

Yogi watched in horror as black hands forced his mouth open wide and that same ghostly figure pulled itself out from his throat before quickly disappearing inside the forest. yogi looked after it seeing if it would come back but it never did. He quickly went over to Gareki, helping him to his feet. " Are you okay?"

Gareki lloked at the ground dizzily waiting for everything to stop spinning as he groaned feeling all the anger disappear from his mind and body. He looked up at Yogi and glared." Am I okay, of course I'm not okay! Some ghost or whatever the hell it was just possessed me. So no! What the hell was that anyway?"

Yogi stared at him for a second not expecting his outburst but he sighed in relief, at least he was back to normal again." I don't know the creatures in this forest but I'm sure that was some kind of spirit— a dark one at that." Gareki pulled himself away from Yogi picking up his weapon before making it disappear within his fingers." For what reason?" he asked looking around the dark forest.

"Possibly for us to kill one another," Yogi said in thought." We need to get out of here Gareki just like you said, before the sun goes down." he looked at Gareki who wasn't paying attention, his back was facing him as he looked up at the sky. Yogi frowned walking up to him." Gareki come on, we don't have time for this." he placed his hand on his strong shoulder.

"We've run out of time." Gareki muttered slowly not seeming to notice his hand as he continued looking up at the sky. Yogi followed his gaze and saw that the sun's rays were no longer above them, only thing that stood were the two moons behind a darkly clouded everything appear even darker.

Gareki slowly turned to face Yogi, his lips slightly parted." We're too late, we're going to be killed if we don't find a way out of this place. He gripped Yogi's upper arms shaking him slightly." Once the siren rings we're done for. Do you hear me?!"

Yogi nodded quickly, surprised by Gareki's sudden panicked behavior." What siren are you talking about?" he asked while Gareki pulled him quickly through the dead woods onto a path. Everything was still so dark and foggy that it was sort of hard to see but they managed with their eye sight.

Gareki opened his mouth to explain but right when he was about to a loud siren broke through the quiet, reverberating into the sky making it sound louder. They both paused frozen in place. Fear immediately being placed inside their minds. The siren rang out through their ears running all through out the area they were in. It was eerie and definitely didn't sound like a horn Yogi had heard before. Suddenly the loud noise stopped. everything going silent once more.

Yogi could hear Gareki's breathing as he turned around eyes placing on everything around them cautiously. His ears twitching repeatedly as the slightest sounds peaked his senses. He shook his head." T-this isn't good, we're dead, we're dead, we're dead ohh God!" Gareki said falling to the ground in a sitting position, running his hands through his hair as he shook his head. Fear marring his face now. He had fallen under the spell of the Laisra. . . .fear.

Yogi felt the affects take place inside of him too but he fought against it, remembering both Gabriel's words and Gareki's to not let it take over his mind, the forest fed off of fear and he needed to snap Gareki out of it before he got himself killed.

He crouched down in front of him as Gareki kept shaking his head from left to right looking around the forest as if something were there, hallucinations began to appear where ever he looked." Gareki stop it, you're letting this place take control of you, you have to fight back." Yogi said sternly.

Gareki snapped his eyes towards him." Are you kidding, this place is going to eat me alive and you!" he pushed his hair back with both of his hands looking around franticly all over again." I can see it. Their eyes, they're all looking at me! They're going to kill me I don't want to die!" Yogi looked around not seeing anyone. He turned back to Gareki. "No ones watching you, it's only me, you're not going to die, I can help you through this, only if you keep yourself calm."

"Keep calm you say, keep calm?! Gareki's eyes widened as he hugged himself." How am I supposed to keep calm in a place like this, there looking at me and they're getting closer, they're going to kill me and you can't see that! Dammit they're going to kill me, get them away from me—"

A loud smack was brought to Gareki's face as soon as the words left his lips. His face fell to the side as he lifted a hand to his cheek before slowly looking at Yogi in shock." W-what the. . .hell."

"Don't take it as offensive and hit me back, I only did it to snap you out of your hysteria. Now listen to me, I'm going to help you get through this but only if you help me and stop panicking. You're definitely stronger than this Gareki I've seen you, now stop acting like this is the most scariest thing you've been through because I know it isn't."

Suddenly the fear disappeared from his face as realization hit. He shook his head." You're right, this place is taking over me." Yogi helped him to his feet." Don't worry about it, let's just find a way out. There is a way out right?"

"Yeah, I saw it on the map. There should be a cave leading out of this place but we need to find it." Gareki replied taking his hand away from his cheek. Yogi looked at him noticing the red mark on his face." Sorry I had to do that to you."

Gareki eyed him before looking foreword again, returning to his regular self again." Whatever it helped. Let's go." he took a step forward but stopped abruptly. Yogi looked at him concerned." What is it."

Gareki looked down only to see a vine wrapped around his ankle Yogi looked down at his ankle as well. Suddenly the vine pulled Gareki upwards making him dangle upside down as he yelped in surprise before other vines forced their way around his body tangling him up before swiftly pulling him away from Yogi into the woods, disappearing from Yogi's view.

Yogi stared in shock frozen to the spot as he heard Gareki yelling as he was further pulled away into the dark forest. It had all happened too quickly. He ran forward after him." Gareki?!" he called out just as something wrapped around his arms and abdomen from behind before it wrapped around his mouth stopping him from yelling in surprise. It yanked him to the ground pulling him quickly into the fog disappearing from view.


	17. Realizations

**Music choice—30 Seconds To Mars— From Yesterday**

 **He's A Stranger To Some**

 **And A Vision To None**

 **He Can Never Get Enough**

 **Get Enough Of The World**

* * *

Gareki's POV

Gareki struggled against the vines as they pulled him on the dirt ground of the forest. He could feel almost every rock and twig scratch him on his face, arms, and back as he slid against the forest floor by the strong pull the vines had on him.

He shut his eyes tightly trying not to get the soggy dirt in his eyes. He had to shack his head a few times to get the dirt off of his face as he tried to summon up his strength to fight against the vines by pushing his arms outwards to snap them apart. But they were tautly wrapped around his arms and legs. The pull on his body only becoming worse as he fought against them.

He clenched his teeth trying to focus enough to summon up his magic to use against them. But the fear broke through his concentration, causing hallucinations to appear wherever he looked all over again. He shut his eyes tightly once more trying to rid them out of his mind as he continued to fight against the vines.

"You're going to die." spoke a deep voice that echoed in his ears from the forest all around him. Gareki shook his head as he felt his eyes opening wide forcefully by themselves. He looked around the forest but saw no one. But sudden images of him dying appeared in his eye sight in horrific flashes that almost made him scream in terror but he bit his tongue hard keeping it inside his throat. He shook his head looking away as he forcefully closed his eyes again.

Repeating the thought inside his head not to let the forest take control over him by fear.

He felt the vines lift him upwards away from the ground as they finally came to a stop. The dirt from the forest floor fell from his face. He shook his head allowing more of the dirt to fall from his hair, but he kept his eyes closed not daring to open them fearing he would continue to see his biggest fears again.

But that same deep voice entered his ears sounding way more closer than the first time it had spoken. He could feel it's warm breath fan over his face as it spoke." You fear dying. . . don't you?" it chuckled it's breath ghosting itself against his ear making it warm. He felt fingers slide up his neck before gripping his chin forcing his head in a direction where the voice had come from. Gareki still kept his eyes closed, not wanting to look at the person—or creature that had a tight hold on his face. But suddenly he felt a burning sensation against the skin the fingers were touching." Open your eyes and answer the question," demanded the voice.

Gareki denied it and roughly pulled his chin away from the tight grip, but that had proved to be a bad move just as a burning punch was aimed at his abdomen making him jerk forward from the unexpected pain aching up his body. He grunted, immediately spitting blood from his mouth just as the hand gripped his chin again forcing his head up and his eyes were forcedly opened once more.

What Gareki saw was confusing and creepy. The person standing in front of him happened to be Yogi but. . . different. His hair was silver contrasting with his pale skin, but his eyes were deadly the way his red pupils stared back at him as a twisted smirk came over his face." Well. . .?" he urged, expecting him to answer the question.

Gareki glared at him giving him a stern look, this wasn't Yogi. He didn't have that malicious look in his eyes that this person clearly had in his." Who the hell are you?" he ignored the question being asked again.

The twisted smirk left his face as a frown took it's place. He looked displeased at Gareki's words. In a quick movement the vines unwrapped Gareki's body and he began to fall but not before a strong hand held him against a tree by the neck, squeezing it tightly but not enough to block his throat from breathing. But just in case Gareki tried to use his magic his hands were tide behind him by vines.

Gareki gave him a cold look his face turning from fear to agitation." Who are you?" he asked again more urgent this time. The man smirked slightly." Fine, have it your way. I know your fears so It doesn't matter if you ignore my question or not but I would have expected you to be less rude about it."

Gareki moved his wrists behind his back, but they were tightly wrapped so he couldn't defend himself." Why is your appearance like that? You can't fool me, I know that's a disguise."

Karoku eyed him before lifting a hand to his forehead pushing away black strands of Gareki's hair." I'd actually thought you'd fall for the appearance but I guess not, I saw you with that human the very first time you two stepped into this forest and the way you two were it would appear that you had a _**thing**_ with him."

Gareki looked slightly confused." You mean. . .Yogi?"

"Who else?" he spoke like it had been obvious."This isn't really my true appearance as you already know so I might as well change back." With those words said Gareki watched his face and hair slowly morph into someone else. The person standing in front of him now had aqua blue hair and eyes but his pupils still had red in them and his body emitted a black aura. The man smiled." The name's Karoku."

Gareki blinked at him giving him a hard look."What do you want?"

Karoku gave him a playful smirk." Ohh what I want with you is to scare the absolute hell out of you. Simple really and to your bad luck I just so happen to be a death keeper one of the people you should be mostly afraid of considering. . ."

"You eat souls." Gareki finished, a shocked looked coming over his features. Karoku dropped his hand away from his forehead. "Exactly. . . I could kill you, that's what you fear," he said breathily as he leaned into his neck breathing him in, he gave out a small chuckle once more as his pupils grew redder." Your soul peaks my interests, I've never smelt anything like it before." he leaned back upwards before grabbing Gareki by the chin, looking strait into his eyes." I have to devour it right here and now."

Gareki gasped slightly not meaning to but it had slipped out anyway as he began to struggle against the vines wrapped around his wrists. Fear subconsciously crossing over his face." Don't lay a finger on me!"

Karoku smiled at the expression as he came up close." That look of innocence is too erotic but also worth the kill to be able to feast on a soul like yours. You fear dying more than anything in this world but just let it happen. . . give up now." he leaned in close forcing Gareki's mouth open as he began to absorb his soul.

Gareki felt a strong pull inside him almost as if he were about to throw up, he shook his head."No!"he pulled himself back against the tree." You're not going to kill me, I won't let you!"

Karoku eyed him wearily before chuckling." I'm surprised you still have fight left, definitely a soul I would love to take out of you. . . but if not then I guess I could always take the soul of your little human friend, wouldn't that be better?"

"Don't touch him!" he yelled, surprising himself and Karoku by his outburst. Gareki hung there confused as to why he cared, it wasn't like Yogi and him were friends? Just a human he had decided to help get back home. There was still trust that needed to be built between them. So why did he care. . .?

Karoku gave him a cautious glance. "He must really mean something to you." he moved his thumb slowly over Gareki's chin before sliding it over his bottom lip. Gareki turned away stopping him from touching his lip. Karoku just smirked."In that case it'll be fun eating his soul instead of yours. I'll leave you here, you won't live for much longer and when you die, I'll be coming for your soul."

Gareki glared at him as he felt the vines unwrap from his wrist but before Karoku let go of his neck he aimed a punch at his abdomen again watching him fall to the ground as he disappeared into the dark forest leaving Gareki there spitting blood from his mouth.

Gareki tightly shut his eyes from the burning pain on his stomach. He wanted to scream so badly but he only aloud himself to groan as he hugged his stomach. The burning sensation from Karoku's punch was immense but at least he would live instead of dying this very second by his soul being taken. Yogi found his way into his mind at that second.

Gareki struggled, pulling himself up to his hands and knees watching where Karoku had disappeared to. He glared at the trees before wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, blood staining his skin. He took in steady breaths as the aching pain in his gut slowly subsided. Getting to his feet he continued to watch where Karoku had gone.

His jaw tightened at the shadows staring back at him from the trees surrounding the perimeter." Why do I care?" he muttered under his breath, thinking specifically about Yogi. That question continuously asked itself inside his head.

"Why. . . ?" he muttered feeling his hands clench into fists trying hard to figure out why he denied Karoku to not eat Yogi's soul. He dug in his brain for the true emotions he felt, just now breaking them free from the very back of his mind, the thoughts that didn't want to be discovered. He shook his head remembering the moments he had saved Yogi along with the moments he hadn't killed him but had been given a clear target of doing so. Of course there'd been plenty of times he could have just done it, but he didn't. But why didn't he?

The truth was he cared. . . he cared. . . a lot. Ever since Gabriel had allowed him to see into his memories he had decided to help because he cared and he felt guilty for not wanting to help when he could've. That had been the start of some what trust between them. It wasn't a lot but it was enough to keep himself from killing Yogi.

Yogi had helped him back at times and Gareki had simple returned the favor thinking nothing of it at the time, but now he figured it out. And he had realized he cared about Yogi just a little bit but that was enough to change his outlook about him. He had grown on him every word he said changed him ever so slightly.

He may have caused troublesome problems that he definitely couldn't forgive him for but he could try. And now it was time to save him from getting killed by Karoku. Gareki held his hand up summoning his weapon. The weight of his glaive settled in the palm of his hand as he twirled it around with his finger tips, bringing it down before holding it in both hands.

He took a step forward but immediately stopped once he heard that same siren again. It rung in his ears eerie just like the first time he had heard it. He waited for it to stop as he looked around cautiously. It finally did and he continued to walk forward, wondering where it had come from.

The last time he had been in Laisra he had heard the very same sound but never figured out where it's location was. He passed a crooked dead tree looking around it just in case if something popped out. In a forest like this you could never tell what different types of dangers would come lunging out at you. But as he looked he heard shuffling leaves as if someone had just run past from a few feet behind him. He quickly turned around allowing his blade to glow bright blue so he could make a strong attack when needed. He saw nothing, but he still kept his guard up. He breathed steadily through his parted lips as his glowing iris's hardened on the trees around him.

He gradually moved forward vigilant, holding his weapon out first as he took one step ahead of the other foot, hearing the leaves crunch beneath his combat boots. His ears twitched as another rustle came from behind sounding much more louder this time.

Gareki twisted around immediately coming face to face with a person our what looked to be a person. It's pitch black skin was made of hard rock with cracks that showed red flowing through out it's body. It's eyes were beady red bit it didn't seem to have a nose as it's mouth hung slightly agape revealing all fangs. Gareki hadn't seen this type of creature before so he was clueless to what it was. It stood on two legs with two arms at it's side so it resembled a human but clearly wasn't one. It was creepy looking as it stood awkwardly on it's legs.

It was slouching side ways. An ugly frown playing against it's mouth as it stared down at him having the upper stance of height.

Gareki made a move to lift his weapon but it didn't budge. Both him and the creature looked down only to see the blade of his glaive was lunged into the creatures side stopping all the way to it's mid section. Gareki guessed he had spun around too quickly and ended up imbedding his blade into the creature's stomach without noticing.

He eyed his weapon before bringing his eyes back up to the creature's face that had slowly looked back up at him. Gareki opened his mouth about to summon a spell considering his blade was already inside the creature but as the first word passed his lips the creature screeched in his face loudly before shoving him a side.

Gareki fell to the ground with a thud feeling his back slid against it before coming to a stop. He got up almost in a sitting position but quickly laid back down rolling out of the way as the creature tried to stomp on him. Gareki rolled to his feet turning to the monster as it faced him realizing it hadn't crushed him.

It screeched again, the sound piercing Gareki's ear drums as he lifted his hands to cover them." Shut up!" he yelled closing his eyes tightly. The creature stopped screeching but instead lunged forward towards him, kneeing him in the stomach sending him flying backwards against a tree.

Gareki cringed from the pain in his back as he slid down the tree's bark, landing on his side. His entire body ached from just that one blow. He slowly lifted himself up against the tree ignoring the aching of his muscles. It would heal and the pain would be over soon. Looking up he saw that there were more than just one of the creatures now. Three of them stared back at him advancing forward— or should he say stumbling forward apparently they weren't good at walking as they dragged their feet on the ground.

Gareki sighed as he lifted his hands in front of his face forming hand signals for a spell. He watched as his glaive glowed brightly still inside the creature's stomach. It formed a thin layer of ice covering it's body starting from where the blade was stabbed into him. Gareki dropped his hands before running forward dodging punches front the others that came lunging for him. He grabbed hold of his weapon pulling it out of the creatures stomach watching it crumble to the ground in shattered pieces of rock and ice.

But no sooner had he done that more of them appeared out of the dark forest around him. Gareki quickly eyed all of them, his breath hitched in his throat surprised that more had showed up." Great, I guess you're all mad because I killed your firend here." he muttered. Holding his glaive out with both hands gripped onto the long rod.

He watched all of them form a circle around him as they further came out of the forest. One of them lifted it's head to the sky before letting out a loud siren, the exact one he had heard a few minutes ago. So that's where it had come from. Gareki clenched his glaive tighter preparing for another spell as he lifted his blade and swiped it through the air watching as it formed ice darts before flying towards the creatures around him. But as soon as they entered the creatures he dropped his weapon forming quick hand symbols as he made the darts freeze them from the inside just like he had done with the very first.

Gareki picked up his weapon before turning away from them as they all crumbled into rock and ice. He took a few steps forward about to leave the battle scene but once he was a half distance away his ears twitched and he stopped abruptly before turning around seeing more of the same creatures chasing after him in a big group. Given a closer look he could tell they were the same ones he had just killed.

Gareki inwardly growled in annoyance as he began running. There were too many for him to fight against even with his magic and just knowing that they would come back to life would be a waste to use it on them. He still needed the energy to find Yogi not to mention fight other nightmares they had in this forest.

He eyed a tree before jumping up to it. His hands grabbing onto the branch as he lifted himself onto it before leaping to the next. He planned to lose them within the trees. He looked down at them watching as they continued to chase after him. From the looks they were eyeing him with they didn't appear happy about him getting away.

Gareki eyed the next tree. It was farther from the current one he was standing on. He took in a breath before jumping, having to make his weapon disappear as he grabbed the branch nearly missing it but he was glad he hadn't because the creatures were right below him trying to climb the tree. Pulling himself up he jumped to the next branch having to climb higher to get to the next branch.

But when he grabbed for it he heard a snap below him. He looked down at the branch he was on only to see it was breaking." Shit," he muttered before quickly jumping to the next only being able to grab it with one hand as he dangled from a high height. He had almost missed this branch too but again he was glad he hadn't.

He gripped it with his other hand about to pull himself up but when he did he heard a loud snap. He looked up, there was a crack in the branch. _That's just perfect_. Gareki thought with aggravation as he pulled himself up onto the branch only to hear another snap and the next thing he knew he was falling. He felt the cold air rush against his skin as he plummeted to the ground hearing the ground break beneath him as he fell into a big hole.

He laid there for a few seconds not moving a muscle. Slowly he opened his eyes feeling some of the dirt from above fall onto him. Lifting himself up he groaned slowly moving his finger tips to his forehead a small headache making it's way. He felt fine except for a few aching muscles. He got into a sitting position throwing off a branch that had fallen on him from his fall. Dirt fell from his clothes as he turned on his side examining the hole he had fallen inside of.

There were medium sized holes in the dirt walls but they were too dark to look inside of. Gareki looked around noticing that the strange holes were all around him, from what he could see he hadn't just fallen into a hole it happened to be a pit. . . a big one.

He got to his feet looking up. One side of the pit had a steep wall but he was sure he could climb it but he needed to hurry, Karoku might of already gotten to Yogi by now. Luck happened to be on his side, he didn't see any sign of those creatures that had been chasing him and he didn't think hard about it either, he was wasting time as it is just standing there.

He placed his hands on the wall about to climb up but suddenly he heard a hissing sound. He blinked before turning around only to see in the shadows that the walls appeared to be moving. He squinted. His eye sight kicking in as it revealed medium sized spiders leaking from the holes on the walls." You have to be kidding," he muttered under his breath just as a spider from behind snuck up on him wrapping it's long legs around his face before dragging him downwards in one quick movement.


	18. Deepest Thoughts

**Music Choice—Superfuit— EMPIRE MEDLEY**

* * *

Yogi's POV ( _This is taking place from the beginning of Gareki's POV so this is happening at the exact same time.)_

Yogi breathed steadily, the darkness surrounding him as he was dragged on the forest floor. Closing his eyes so none of the crooked branches from the fallen trees could poke him in the eyes as his body was dragged through them. He tried to remove himself from what ever had wrapped itself around him but none of his actions would work against the strong hold wrapped around his arms and abdomen.

He didn't know where he was going but he did know he needed to get out of the current situation he was in before something bad happened and more importantly find Gareki.

He tried to move his arms again as an attempt to get out of the strong hold but once again it didn't break. He needed a plan—an idea. Laisra from what he could tell was a dark place and what better way to beat the darkness than adding light? He wasn't sure if his magic would work for this but it was worth trying.

Sighing and calming his nerves he kept his eyes closed and began to focus. He could feel his magic fluttering all around him in an invisible force but it was weaker than before. This was obliviously the effects of it being broken in half but luckily it wasn't too weak, he was still able to do a few more magic spells and powerful blasts before letting it recharge it's energy.

It took him longer then before to focus because of the magic being weaker. _Come on, focus, you can get out of this, you have to._ he thought, ignoring everything around him as he focused his magic into the amulet. He could feel the warmth of it against his chest and he was sure it was glowing by now.

He felt the hold on him loosening as he kept up his focus, but it didn't stop dragging him on the ground. The moist dirt beneath him shifted from his weight against it and he could hear his body being dragged through under brushes of dead trees and leaves.

Despite this he kept his focus and unleashed his magic, a golden bright light emitting from the amulet, burning whatever it was that was holding him. It loosened completely as it slithered away from his arms and unwrapped from his mouth. Yogi opened his glowing eyes looking around as he came to a stop on the forest floor.

He breathed slowly through his parted lips. He didn't try to look at what creature it had been nor did he care. He had more important things to be occupied with. He looked up and examined the black trees surrounding him against the darkly clouded skies. He spotted a big raven perched on a precarious branch of a leaning tree as it's red eyes glanced down at him. That wasn't supposed to be their normal appearance back in his realm. They looked a lot more innocent but this one looked sinister.

He eyed it for a second before turning away examining the rest of his location but to be completely honest it looked the exact same from where Gareki and himself had just been near the gate. So many trees made everything look the same. He hoped he wouldn't get himself lost while searching for him.

Searching. . .

It was likely Gareki wasn't looking for him, if he had survived anyway. The Avatarian ice prince was most likely happy to be rid of him especially after all the things Yogi he said to his face during their dispute earlier.

Of course they'd been possessed by spirits that forced the harsh words out of their mouths but he was positive the words he had said to Gareki had always been in the back of his mind begging to be let out but he never let them free, afraid that he would go too far and Gareki would get angry and abandon him in this world that was definitely dangerous. Of course he wanted to get his point across to Gareki but not in the harsh way Gareki would say things to him. For Christ sake he had already called him stupid on their walk to Gabriels, so enough bad words were said to make Gareki completely angry, especially since he was a prince who should be respected.

But as for Gareki he would have said them no problem considering everything that came out of his mouth was harsh and heartless at times. Gareki was different like he had said a few times. He was bold, he said what was on his mind even if it hurt that person. He was cold that way.

This further proved that he didn't care, Yogi knew that Gareki hated him still and that wasn't going to change just because he was helping him to the realm gates, there were small hints of it on his face that revealed" unforgivable" every time he took a glimpse at him. Even if Gareki had helped him get this far Yogi knew he still had a grudge, but he couldn't help but feel confused.

Gareki hadn't killed him yet or at all for that matter even when he had the chance. . . he just didn't. Maybe he cared or maybe he was trying to do the right thing like Yogi told him to, but truthfully he didn't know, it was hard to tell if their relationship was getting any better. Yogi pushed himself to his feet rubbing off the dirt on his clothes. "Gareki probably found the cave already on his way out of Laisra right now without m—"

He bit his tongue stopping further words that were about to pass his lips. He needed to think positive, not all this negative stuff about Gareki hating him and discarding him. He was going to look for him and both of them would walk out of this terrifying place together without getting killed in the process. That was the plan and it was staying that way no matter what Gareki truly thought of him.

Yogi walked in the direction he had been dragged from, expecting to get back to the gate and go in the direction Gareki had been dragged away. He followed the tracks he had made while being dragged. All the while he kept his guard up keeping the amulet in his hand, it shining brightly preparing to shoot anything that moved. He just hoped it wasn't bate to get himself killed.

He walked further into the woods squeezing past over grown branches. Pushing them aside making his way past them. He walked around for a few more minutes with nothing but silence filling his ears. The two moons shining brightly above behind the clouds shown down on the dark woods brightening up his path as he continued to follow it.

He kept walking forward until he came to a dead tree right in the middle of the path. Yogi stopped walking, looking at the tree in question. There couldn't of been any way he had been dragged here right when a tree was in the way—unless he had gone right through it, in which case wasn't possible. He looked left of the tree only seeing another group of trees that didn't have enough room to pass between them and so did the right side.

He walked towards the left side, squeezing past the two trees but as he stepped out on the other side he felt the world around him shift as if he had spun around in a quick circle. He stumbled forward by an invisible force that had pushed him. Yogi caught himself just before he fell over. He quickly turned, holding his hand up as his palm sparked with magic preparing to hit what ever had pushed him.

His eyes darted from left to right but saw no one. His guard was still up not taking the bate to believe no one was around. He stood up still eyeing his surroundings as he took slow steps back, still keeping up the golden flare of magic glowing in the palm of his hand.

A small voice in the back of his mind told him to walk away. Yogi wasn't so sure to follow it but most of the time when that voice spoke it was accurate. He sighed in unease, eyeing the area one more time before putting his hand down, but he stayed prepared just in case an attack came. A few seconds later he heard that same siren from earlier ring out loudly for a moment before stopping.

He moved forward looking back at the ground for the path he had been following deciding to ignore the siren and keep going. His brows furrowed when he didn't see it. Scouring the ground but still couldn't find it. This wasn't good, he was lost now without the path leading him. But how was that possible? He could have sworn it had just been right in front of him, so how had it just disappeared?

But then he remembered the shift. Had he some how moved into a different area of Laisra? If so then that would explain why the path was no longer here, of course. He needed to find it again which meant he had no other choice but to walk in a random direction hoping that the path would be in that location. He sighed." So be it then."

Yogi walked through the woods looking at the ground, occasionally looking up for protective reasons. There was still no sign of the path he had been. He was beginning to think he was never going to get out of this forest but he quickly pushed the thought out of his head.

"Find Gareki." he reminded himself as he moved past bushes, pushing hanging branches out of his way as he came into an open area. The dark green grass came up to his knees as he walked out from the branches looking around at the tall trees that had growing leaves on them instead of dead ones. This area looked different from all the dead vegetation. The grass was actually a healthy green instead of shriveled grey and the trees weren't dead. Everything appeared healthy and. . .alive.

He turned forward seeing tall dark purple bushes that had small glowing cracks glowing from something behind them. Yogi walked over before reaching for it he grabbed a hold of some and pulled them slightly away—

"Yogi, stop what you're doing, don't get any closer!" Yogi stopped and let go of the leaves quickly turning around only to see Gareki walking out from the trees, panting slightly as he held his hand up for him to stop what he was about to do, his other was placed on the side of his stomach where he was bleeding.

Yogi's eyes widened as he saw the blood. He took a step towards him but stopped as he eyed him over. He was different, had he always had red pupils? Probably not. Yogi didn't know why but he got the feeling of unease while looking at him he decided to play it off as he quickly went over to him."Gareki you're alive, What happened to you?"

Gareki dropped his hand down to his side as he replied. "Isn't it obvious? I got attacked once I was dragged away from you," he stated pulling his hand away from his bleeding wound as he looked at his palm covered in blood.

"Don't take your hand away from your wound, you're going to make it bleed more," Yogi said, urgently grabbing his wrist placing his hand back on his abdomen where a bleeding gash presented itself." How did this even happen to you?"

"I got. . . punched by a death keeper."

Yogi looked down at him in confusion." Death Keeper?" Gareki rolled his eyes." Right, I forgot you don't know what that is. They're demons that live in Laisra which is this forest, They're obsessed with eating souls from victims they catch in their territory and I ended up being one. . .almost."

Yogi sighed in relief." Well I'm glad that you're okay." he muttered.

Gareki blinked at him not catching what he had said." What was that?"

"Nothing." Yogi shook his head before turning to the big bushes that still had a bright glow behind them." Why can't I go in there, the way it looks around this area is as if we're in the right place for that cave you told me about."

Gareki eyed him strangely before looking away." Just trust me on it, they have traps in this place as well so it's best if you don't go in there."

Yogi looked at him for a second he sounded odd, different and off putting. How weird he thought before turning and walking towards the bushes. Before he could make another step Gareki placed a hand on his shoulder gripping it tightly." What did I just say," he demanded, glaring at him.

Yogi looked down at him lifting an eyebrow." Calm down, it's just a glowing light—"

"It's more than that," he interjected deeply, his eyes boring into Yogi's. Yogi looked at his hand before pushing it off his shoulder giving Gareki a hard look." Whatever, I'm going to go look at it anyway. If something happens I can easily protect myself, why are you so jumpy you've never been this way before?" he walked away moving closer to the bushes.

Gareki dropped his hands to his sides not minding his wound anymore."You're making a **_big_** mistake," he growled glaring at his back.

Yogi ignored him still walking forward. Gareki clenched his fists." Fine," he breathed." I'll give you to the count of three to come back here, or else you'll get yourself killed."

Yogi took another step, transfixed at the bright blue and green glow coming from what was behind the bushes.

"One." Gareki's hair slowly turned blue. Yogi took another step.

"Two." his facial features changed into a slightly thinner and older appearance as his clothes changed into different attire.

Another step and Yogi was reaching for the leaves slightly brushing his fingers over them.

"Three!" a scythe appeared in his hands as he twirled it in his finger tips before lunging for Yogi.

Yogi pulled the leaves back revealing a cave. He turned around just as a darting figure shoved him into the cave, both of them rolled on the hard ground before coming to a stop with a figure on top pinning Yogi down as his scythe rested on the side of them on the ground. Yogi stared up at him in surprise. The unknown person laughed at his expression." I bet you weren't expecting this to happen did you?" he chuckled, gripping Yogi's wrist tightly.

Yogi looked up at his hand being pinned down before looking back up into his dark red pupils, he wasn't even surprised he had sensed that this wasn't Gareki from the very beginning, he had played along just to get him to reveal himself." You're not Gareki you were a fake from the start so who are you?"

He smirked. "Karoku, Oh and you're just like him, I recall Gareki saying the exact same thing to me— well sort of, he definitely knew I wasn't you when he first saw me. I guess you two really do have some kind of thing between you both."

Yogi clenched his jaw hearing this." You tried to trick him by transforming yourself into me? Did you hurt him?"

"Aww, that's cute. . .really." he chuckled.

Yogi glared at him." Answer the question, I can't afford for him to be hurt."

Karoku shook his head." You are too ridiculous but fine, I did get a small taste of his soul right when I left him with my shadow beasts they're probably taking him to the fire ceremony right now so his soul can be mine once I finish you off." he smiled.

Yogi eyed him over, especially at his appearance." So you're really a death keeper?" he claimed, examining his face up and down." You're not going to eat mine or Gareki's I won't let you."

"You and Gareki must really have the same thoughts about one another I recall him saying that too. Right when I told him I would eat your soul instead of his he immediately said not to do so, I guess he cares about you but not for long. . .because I'm about to eat your soul anyway. But before I do that I noticed how bad you wanted to be inside this cave. I know you want to leave this world but you won't, not on my watch."

Yogi mentally sighed at hearing this. It was going to be hard now to escape Laisra with Karoku knowing but he didn't want to stay here he had already been out of the sun for a few hours now which was all the more reason to leave this place. He focused his magic planning on using it when needed." This place is a nightmare anyone would want to leave."

Karoku nodded." Good answer but I'm afraid you won't make it through which means you'll die here."

Yogi kept a strait face." Believe me I'm not scared." Karoku's smirk dissappeaered as an angry look replaced it." You should be." a dark aura appeared around him as he lunged for Yogi about to eat his soul. Yogi moved his head away missing him by a few inches.

"Stay still, it'll hurt a lot less if you just let it happen," Karoku said, grabbing hold of Yogi's face with both of his hands as he pride his mouth open. Yogi tried to shake his head but he couldn't move like he had wanted to. Karoku laughed in his face as his mouth split open into three sections all having sharp teeth pointing right at him. Yogi's eyes widened at the freaky alien appearance as slim dripped from the large opening of his mouth.

He felt some of it drip onto his face as he struggled against him." It's over now." Karoku leaned forward beginning to eat Yogi's soul as he sucked some of it out of him.

Yogi closed his eyes focusing even more before he unleashed his magic from the amulet sitting on his chest. Karoku flew backwards hitting the cave wall.

Yogi breathed through his parted lips trying to gain his breath back. He had felt a strong pull inside of him, maybe that had been his soul. He pushed himself to his feet before taking out his sword from it's sheath pointing it strait at him." Tell me where the fire is so I can help Gareki."

The three sections of Karoku's mouth closed up, slowly morphing back to his normal lips, he gave out a hysterical laugh." **_You_** helping _**him**_?! Like I'd ever believe that, he's a goner he's a dead man!"

"I refuse to believe that, now tell me where he is or else you'll die here."

Karoku shook his head his eyes blazing red. He slowly walked over and grabbed his scythe off the ground before holding it up." I guess we'll have to see who dies first, if you can kill me that is." he smirked.

Yogi ran forward striking him with his blade but it was met with Karoku's scythe blocking his sword from entering his skin. Karoku shoved Yogi back but he stayed on his feet lunging forward again. He brought his sword up bringing it down on his scythe as Karoku blocked his hit once more.

Karoku pushed him back only slightly this time before high kicking him in the shoulder, causing Yogi to side step a couple times as he held it painfully. Karoku chuckled as he eyed him." Look at you. . . you're weak! You care too much that's the thing that makes magic beings weaker, their emotions. I know what you are I know your thoughts and secrets and your feelings. You can't possible win this fight."

Yogi let go of his shoulder lifting his sword up again." Don't give me that crap, it's the other way around, emotions make us stronger, and no. . ." he shook his head slowly." You don't know anything about me."

Karoku appeared in front of him so quickly that Yogi hadn't even seen him move. He came up close." Oh I do know you, I know lots about you. They don't call me a death keeper for a reason, I know almost everything about the victims that I kill, possibly their entire life's story and I know their deepest thoughts that haven't even crossed their minds yet. And you want to know what I know about you. . .?"

Yogi stood there frozen by his words, a hard look on his face." What are you talking about?"

Karoku smirked." You know what I'm talking about, it's Gareki isn't it?" he whispered as he slowly began to walk circles around him." Apparently you care about him a lot more than you let on. . .am I right?"

Yogi blinked looking at the ground before shaking his head." No, you're wrong, we're only acquaintances. . .we're different."

"Maybe he thought that way about you too. . .but maybe he changed his mind and maybe you've changed yours as well from thinking he was only a heartless prince to a beautiful person you saw naked."

Yogi felt his breath hitch in his throat at the sudden memory of Gareki's body water dripping off of him. He quickly shook his head." Quit trying to distract me, lets not forget that he's in danger at the moment and you're about to meet your death."

Karoku continued to walk in slow circles around him." Ohh believe me, I'm not trying to distract you at all, I'm just stating the truth of what you think of him. . .you're falling for him every second you're close. . .you just haven't noticed or realized it yet."

Yogi bit his lip hard not believing what Karoku was saying to him even though deep down he knew he felt small emotions for Gareki." I've had enough of your words."

Karoku stepped in front of him still holding his scythe." Whether you're tired of it it's the truth, and since you care about him so much then I'll make sure his death is slow and painful. You may not know how us death keepers are but just know we're ruthless when it comes to killing and I enjoy it a lot especially when it's slow."

Suddenly anger peaked it's way into his head as his sword glowed gold." You won't kill him." with those words said vines grew from the tip of his blade flying right at Karoku striking right through him.

To say that Karoku was shocked was an understatement as he stood there surprise taking over his face. The sharp vines deeply inside of him. He laughed slightly." Nice work, you actually got me, but whose to say I'm dead for good?" he continued to laugh even when his body turned into black dust disappearing in mid air. Yogi could still hear his laugh but it died down as he fully disappeared after a few seconds of him standing there.

Was he dead or not that question wasn't clear to answer. He held his sword up and watched the vines disappear as he put the sword back into it's sheath. He sighed thinking about everything that Karoku had just said. Was it true. . .?


	19. Struggles

**Muisc Choice— Breaking Benjamin—Diary Of Jane**

 **If I Had To**

 **I would Put Myself Right Beside You**

 **So Let Me Ask**

 **Would You Like That**

 **Review/ Favorite Thanks**

* * *

Yogi stared at the empty space Karoku had been in. His deepest thoughts that he hadn't even realized yet had been revealed to him and he didn't know what to think, or most of all how to react. He knew every last word Karoku said was true. He just. . .didn't want to believe it so he questioned it.

He bit his bottom lip slowly letting it go as his shoulders dropped. He wanted to honestly laugh at this point in complete disbelief because of the feelings he had for a person not from his own realm, how unique was this? Now that he thought about it, all of it was completely insane. When he was a kid he hadn't imagined any of this happening.

He wanted to be with a women. . .but now he was falling for an Avatar which he still didn't understand their species of human or mythical human creature as Gareki would say, correcting him. They were both opposites, he had covered that inside his head a few times, making it clear that they were different and weren't meant to be.

Which didn't make him feel any better at the moment. He guessed that goes to show how strong his emotions were.

Yogi inhaled before sighing. He shook his head still looking down at the ground. That was it. . .he couldn't do it. As much as it hurt to think this he couldn't follow through with falling for Gareki, no matter how beautiful, strong, different and cold he was. He wanted for them to be together but not like the way they were, hot and cold. He felt like a piece was missing once he thought this and he knew it was going to be difficult to get over Gareki even though they just met a few days ago his emotions immediately clicked when it came to him. But not anymore. As harsh as it sounded he couldn't always have the things he wanted and this was one of those things.

He sighed again before looking around the cave. Just like he had seen before, it was glowing a light green and blue against the walls like sparkles. On a closer inspection he saw small little diamonds embedded in the rock. Yogi turned and looked further inside the cave to see a path leading down some where he couldn't see from his standing position. This must of been the cave Gareki had told him about.

So he had found it which was good but now he needed to save Gareki. But that would be a problem considering he still didn't know where he was. He turned around looking at the bushes blocking the cave as an opening, he walked over to them slowly reaching for the leaves before pushing them aside as he walked through them, leaving the cave. He looked at the living trees around him for an idea but couldn't come up with any except for one that didn't seem helpful at all.

He would need to find Gareki by just guessing where he was, the only clue was a fire and in a dark place like this it should be easy to find. But he hoped he wouldn't feel another shift that would place him in another location away from the cave. It was already a nightmare being in Laisra and he only wanted to leave this place.

He walked over to the trees, pushing their long leaves and branches aside as he squeezed through, no sooner had he done this he stepped down onto dead leaves and the world around him returned to it's deathly foggy nature. He guessed it was because he left the cave area, where everything was alive thanks to the cave that possibly lead to a more healthy and alive vegetated area. It was probably magic making them alive like that.

He hopped over a fallen tree landing on the shriveled leaves again. In his head he made up his own path sticking strait and not daring to walk in any other direction just for safe reasons. it was best to keep in one direction or else he would get himself lost from the cave. Plus he felt like he was doing the right thing for sticking strait. Up ahead he saw crooked branches blocking his way, pulling out his sword he hacked his way through them. They landed on the ground almost immediately shriveling up even more.

He cut through more of them as he continued walking. The moons still shining brightly from above. Suddenly the air around him got cooler. He looked around wondering why it had gotten colder when the fog had already done the job of doing it. He turned around again,looking ahead of himself as he hacked off another dead branch. It broke off easily since it's wood was already dead. He stepped over it.

But as he stepped down he heard a rustle of crunched leaves behind him move quick as if someone had ran across. Yogi whipped his head around glaring hard at a tree with his sword held out. He stood there in his place stiffly waiting. Nothing moved an inch. He gave one last look around before slowly holding down his sword but he kept it out.

He turned back around continuing to walk on his imaginary path. A few minutes passed before he heard the same sound again but this time to the left of him. He stopped and turned in that direction. was he being paranoid of Laisra now? There was a chance he was imagining the sounds but that was just an idea, it wasn't accurate yet.

He was thinking to move in that direction he had heard the sound but stopped himself before his foot could move. He had just remembered the shift, he didn't want it happening again so he stayed put and ignored the sound as he walked forward again, still holding his sword out.

His guard was peaked high as his eyes trained on the dead vegetation around him waiting for the next movement. He hadn't dealt with much trouble apon entering Laisra but he knew his luck would die down soon but he hadn't known it was going to be _ **this**_ soon, right when Gareki and himself were almost out of this place. If this forest wanted a fight then he would sure as hell give it one. He wasn't going to die after he had made it this far.

He kept moving forward a few minutes of dead silence filling his ears except for his own breathing. He kept the sword in his hand held out as he eyed everything that would be a hiding place for an enemy. He slowly brought his eyes up after a moment and in the distance he saw a red flare. He stopped and squinted. . .it was a fire. It had to be, he could tell by the movements it made. Relief washed over him. It was a few distances away but he was sure he could make it if he ran and the cave was just a few distances behind him as well, but they could make it.

He inhaled." I'm on my way Gareki."

Suddenly a snap came from behind him, he quickly turned around but once he did he saw a dark shadow heading strait for him red eyes staring right into his right as he felt an invisible force push him to the ground, his back slamming to the forest floor.

Gareki's Pov

,  
Gareki growled loudly as he gripped the butt of the large spider attached to his face. He struggled against the dirt ground as he pulled hard against it. He felt the sharp legs sticking at his skin and the immediate hiss it made as he pulled harder." Get. . .off!" he yelled, giving one last tug before pulling the insect from his face. He held it in his hand staring at it for a second as it's red eyes glared at him.

It's long legs moved as it tried to get attached to his arm but Gareki immediately threw it to the ground stomping on it with his combat boot repeatedly making sure it was dead. He breathed harshly through his parted lips, not expecting the spider to sneak up on him. He would be lying if he had said that it hadn't scared him.

He looked up at the swarm of big spiders coming his way. If spiders could have an expression he would say they all looked angry and he knew the reason why. They all poured out of the holes in the walls crawling down over to him. He guessed most of them wanted revenge because he had just killed one of them or they were hungry. But he'd be damned if he aloud them to bite any part of him, they looked poisonous.

He summoned up his glaive, holding it out before him as the blade glowed blue for a spell summoning. He lifted it up with both hands and brought it down, embedding the blade into the ground as a layer of ice grew from it. It spread over the ground freezing the spiders all coming his way.

He inhaled slowly before breathing out pulling his glaive from the ground. That had been too easy, it couldn't have been over without that much of a fight especially with spiders this size. But either it was or not he needed to get out of here and find Yogi. He moved towards the steep wall placing his hands on it again as he began to climb.

But sure enough once he did he heard a cracking sound. He turned and looked down at the spiders. They were twitching inside the ice, cracking it from the outside as it slowly began to free them. Of course Gareki knew his freezing spell wasn't as great as his mother's but it should have lasted longer than this. He paused perplexed as to what was happening with his spell, not to mention his magic which felt odd inside of him.

This wasn't normal it hadn't happened to him before. He looked at his glaive seeing the bright blue glow of his blade begin to flicker, his spell was dying. His brows creased together just as he felt a small burning sensation on his abdomen as if Karoku had just punched him there again. It began slow but gradually burned into an intense pain.

The air washed out of him as he fell down onto his back gripping at his stomach. The pain was coming from the same place where Karoku had punched him. That same feeling of immense pain flooding up his body made him want to scream so loudly but he held it in his throat instead letting out whimpers and groans, trying to breath through it. Despite this the pain didn't go away as quickly as it had the first time. He didn't think this would happen, Karoku must have just died.

He was a Death Keeper which meant if they died leaving their punch on you then they were going to take half of your soul in order to come back to life. That would explain why his magic was weaker and why the burning sensation on his abdomen had began to ignite.

Gareki sucked in his lips tightly as he eyes closed holding back the tears. This hurt so bad he wanted to scream and so he did, it flowed out of his throat loudly, piercing his ears as soon as it escaped. But he didn't care, even if it alerted those creatures he had been running away screamed until his throat ached and until his breath ran out of his lungs.

He began to feel a strong pull inside of him. He felt like his inside were going to rip out of him at that very moment. He gripped his burning abdomen just as he felt his soul working it's way up his throat forcing his mouth open as it flew out in one swift movement before floating away from him disappearing into the woods where he could no longer see it. He felt slightly empty but full as the other half of his soul rested back inside of him.

He laid there inhaling his breaths heavily as he leaned upwards slowly pulling his shirt away from his stomach revealing a devil pentagon right bellow his rib cage slowly engraving itself into his skin with a burning sensation that still felt utterly painful. It was an intense red color but he was sure it would permanently stay on his skin, soon turning black like his other tattoos.

He glared at the mark angrily. Mad that Karoku had done this to him. But what made him mad the most was that he hadn't even realized it when it happened. He had been too distracted with thoughts of Yogi instead of his own well being. But it was still his own fault, he wasn't going to blame Yogi for his forgetfulness. Gareki slowly let his eyes wonder away from the pentagon and onto the spiders that were still trapped in ice but constantly breaking little parts of it. They would be out soon and he would be too weak to fight them all with only half his soul left inside his body.

He wasn't sure how he was going to restore his soul but as far as he was concerned there was hardly anyway to get his entire soul back. That meant he was technically only going to be half alive for the rest of his life that was now cut short thanks to half his soul being stolen.

That wasn't at all good to think about and a small fear of death worked it's way inside of his head but he pushed it out, he would find a way to restore it. He dropped his shirt back over his stomach grabbing hold of his glaive as more of the spiders broke free from their ice statues. As much as he had been in pain it was slowly going away now subsiding into a dull burn which meant he was able to stand up now but as for his magic use, he wasn't sure any of it was going to last very long so that meant he needed to escape now.

He used his glaive rod for support helping himself to his feet as he stumbled over to the steep wall. He landed against it with his chest first raising his hand up he sunk his fingers into the dirt beginning to climb up but not before feeling sharp legs clamp onto his tail.

Gareki moved his glaive and sliced the spider in half as it tried to bite him on the tail. He watched it sag to the floor as more spiders came after him. He turned back around using the wall to climb up as fast as he could, but even if he wanted to go fast he couldn't, his body was weak only making him move at a regular speed.

He could hear them moving right behind him and they were close." Come on," he muttered, urging himself to move faster as the tips of his boots dug into the wall pushing him up another few inches. He was almost to the top. He reached up grabbing a buried rock that was sticking out of the dirt for support. He then felt a sharpness climb all the way up to his back and then a loud hiss was in his ears. Gareki didn't even need to turn around to know what it was.

He felt the spider right on his neck about to take a bite out of him but he quickly brought his tail up wrapping it around two of the spider's legs before throwing it off his back watching it fall into the pit. He then pulled himself up even further as he reached the top of the pit dragging himself out of it.

He let out a small groan as he lifted his legs from the pit pushing himself onto his back as he caught his breath, closing his eyes. He laid there for a few seconds hearing the spiders try and climb up the steep wall but they couldn't make it as he heard them fall back down angrily hissing at his escape.

 _Good_. He thought as he lifted himself up, placing a hand on his glaive. He heard a noise in the woods around him and he immediately got to his feet having slight difficulty but he did it but just as he had he was thrown back by an invisible force pushing him to a tree.

Gareki slowly slid down landing on his hands and knees coughing, once again feeling the wind fly out of him. He looked up right as he was smacked in the face so hard he was thrown to the side, rolling until he came to a stop against a bush. He lied there face aching as he slowly cracked his eyes open. He saw black boots walking his way. He knew those boots. Slowly looking up into the red eyes of Karoku smirking down at him with his hands casually placed inside his pockets as he slowly advanced over to him." Well. . . well. . . well, I see you're still alive, thanks for the free soul now I'm even stronger than I was before. I honestly should've taken your soul first instead of dealing with that impossible friend of yours, Yogi wasn't it?"

Gareki squinted at him as he mentioned Yogi, so he had found him and once again he hadn't expected it." What did you do to h—"

"Oh relax, I did nothing to him you should be asking what he did to me. I didn't know he had it in him to kill but he did and now he'll be serving the price for what he's done." Karoku said darkly, a wicked smirk widening on his face. He looked down at Gareki eyeing him over. "Actually, you both will be. I've had enough of toying around with the two of you. . .so now we'll put it all to an end."

"He killed you," Gareki muttered, not sure how to think of that being Yogi but he supposed he was strong when he needed to be." Where is he now?"

Karoku slowly crossed his arms as he came to a stop in front of him. Gareki heard a rustling in the woods around them and when he looked behind Karoku he saw the same creatures he had been running away from before came out of the forest huddling around them in a circle. Gareki guessed that these creatures were henchman for Karoku from the way that they were standing as if waiting for the next move to make.

"Your friend is currently being chased down by my shadow demons he's probably off in these woods somewhere being killed as we speak, serves him right for sticking those thorns through me. But as for you. . .I should have never let you go when I had the chance to end you on the spot and then I wouldn't have died. Dying is such a bitch isn't it Gareki that's probably why you're so afraid of it."

Gareki slowly reached for his weapon but Karoku saw him and quickly stepped on his hand pushing it to the ground." Let's not make this any harder than it already is. . .okay," he whispered. Gareki bit his lip holding in his groan as Karoku continued to press down on him.

Karoku chuckled as he crouched down in front of him. The boot on his hand becoming more heavier as he did and Gareki twitched as the pain rolled up his arm. Karoku made no move to release him though as he stared down at him." I may have half of your soul now but the taste of it you could never understand how good it was, so refreshing and powerful. . . you see that's why I want to kill you now but what would be the fun in all that when I put up a whole ceremony for you, I'm spicing things up a bit."

Gareki glared up at him." I don't give a damn about you stupid ceremony, you're not going to kill me and you're not going to get away with killing Yogi either."

Karoku laughed at that,he stepped off of Gareki's hand before pushing him on his back pinning him there." Ohh, you'll definitely care knowing that the ceremony is going to kill you. Let's not forget that you're already half dead thanks to my mark on you. Remember ?"

Gareki glared up at him as he felt cold fingers cascade up under his shirt lifting it away from his stomach as they trailed over the pentagon." Your soul is almost mine, why do you keep fighting even though you're this weak? You and your little friend have the same attitude about not knowing when to quit." he came up close to Gareki's face with his own." Give up already let me win this time."

Gareki eyed him hard feeling some of his strength come back to him." It's called wanting to live and that's exactly what we're going to do, so you're about to lose again!" with that said Gareki head butted Karoku making him flinch backward holding his forehead with both hands.

Gareki held his hand out summoning his glaive, he felt the long rod fly into his palm before he closed his fingers around it, he pointed the rod at Karoku before hitting him with it in the face causing him to get off of him. Gareki got to his feet twirling his glaive in his hand before grabbing it with both hands bringing it down on Karoku's head hitting him for a third time.

"Don't mess with an Avatar," Gareki seethed glaring down at him as he eyed the creatures stepping towards him.


	20. The Hard Choice Part 1

_**Music Choice—Heather Sommer—Now That I Know You**_

 _ **I'm Alive Because Of You**_

 _ **You See Me In A Different Light**_

 _ **And It's All Brand New**_

 _ **To Me**_

 _ **REVIEW/FAVORITE**_

* * *

Gareki took a couple steps back as the Karoku's henchman stepped towards him. He held up his glaive in front of him for self defense." Hold back your henchman Karoku."

Karoku picked himself up off the ground rubbing his head where a red mark was caused by Gareki's weapon hitting him. He smirked." I'm surprised that you actually caught me off guard like that, nice but not good enough. I guess you forgot that I'm stronger now." he held up his hand ordering the shadow beasts to back off. They all turned to him before stepping back away from Gareki. They surrounded them both in a circle, their eyes never leaving Gareki.

Karoku dropped his hands." You made a big mistake hitting me like that. I guess you thought you had a chance of escaping."

Gareki stood his ground." I know I did, but I took the chance to hit you anyway, you deserved it. Now, how about you let me go so I can finally leave this place."

Karoku rest his hands on his hips as he shook his head a chuckle emitting from his throat." I don't think so, I guess you thought it would be that easy to just waltz on out of here through a cave, I think not. I'm getting that other half of your soul."

Gareki squinted his eyes at him." So you know about the cave, did Yogi tell you?"

"Of course not, I knew about it ever since it appeared there. Your friend just happened to find it. He was stubborn when I told him not to go inside but by then he had already figured out my true form and that I wasn't really you."

Gareki lifted an eyebrow." So you tried to trick him forming yourself as me, nice try but he's not stupid."

"I can see that, but I never thought I'd hear an Avatarian say that about an Outsider. Usually your kind isn't so welcoming when it comes to them."Gareki felt his jaw clench." He's not who I thought he was and how do you know he's an Outsider?"

Karoku sighed as he began to pace looking thoughtful." Well that answer should be obvious considering I'm a Death Keeper. The demons who know lots about every living thing that comes into Laisra. I'd thought you'd known this."

"It slipped my mind." he tightened his hold on the long rod of his glaive. Karoku's smile widened." Well what shouldn't slip your mind is all they've done to you and your kingdom. He even got you banished."

Gareki quickly pointed his blade at Karoku's face immediately making his mouth shut but the smile didn't disappear." I'd advise you to keep your mouth shut, you know nothing," he said deeply.

"Oh I know lots." he held up five fingers flicking them downwards as he numbered them off." lets see, one, he got you banished, two if it weren't for him you wouldn't of lost respect from your mother and the people of your kingdom, three he nearly got you killed by the creatures sent after him, four he—."

"Shut your mouth," Gareki yelled, glaring hard into his eyes." I put myself in those situations because I offered to help him." it was true, all of this was happening because he had helped Yogi that one night out of the ice castle. All of the things that were happening that had caused him trouble had all been because he offered to help. It was like fate, it was bound to happen.

"Stop trying to brainwash me, I know how you try to pry your way into your victims, it's all you Death Keepers know how to do." Karoku began laughing hysterically as if what he had just said was completely hilarious. He laughed for an entire minute before calming down leaving a small smile on his lips. Gareki was getting sick of that smile, he wanted to cut it right off of his face. "I've wasted enough time with you, tell me where Yogi is?"

Karoku's scythe appeared in his hand." No, let's not be unfair here remember that you hit me so now I get to return the favor." he lunged forward quickly. Gareki lifted his glaive up with both hands blocking the hit of Karoku's scythe. Both of their weapons pushing against each other.

Gareki clenched his jaw tightly as he summoned up his strength."As if I'd allow you to do that." he shoved him back before summoning up a spell but right as he was about to throw it towards Karoku it disappeared. His magic was still slightly weak.

Karoku laughed at his attempt before he lunged forward again, aiming a hit at Gareki's face with the rod of his weapon. Gareki flew backwards landing on his back with a thud. His face ached even more now and if that wasn't enough his body wasn't at it's greatest strength was he going to win against Karoku now? Opening his eyes he saw Karoku land on top of him his blade a few inches away from his face but Gareki quickly countered it with his own blade pushing against Karoku's weapon once again.

Both of their blades making a loud clanking sound as medal hit against medal. Karoku laughed wickedly as he smirked above him, eyes wide with anticipation. "You're a deadman!" he pushed harder but Gareki brought up one of his legs kneeing him in the stomach hard. Karoku jerked away from him. Gareki immediately pushed himself to his feet. He quickly brought his glaive up to the left before swiping it down through the air about to cut Karoku's head off but Karoku saw his movements and jerked backwards once more but not quick enough as Gareki was able to scratch his face leaving a long thin line of blood on his cheek crossing over to his nose.

Gareki glared hard at him as Karoku got to his feet an angry look on his face as blood dripped down his lips and chin. His eyes were redder now signifying his anger." Why you, how dare you, my face is ruined now!?"

Gareki's face hardened as he kept his slit eyes trained on Karoku's. The blade on his glaive dripped slightly with blood on the tip. _I don't know if I can beat him but I can try. I'll give my magic one more chance to work but if it doesn't than I'm going to have to fight using combat skills._ Gareki thought.

He focused ignoring everything around him for just a few seconds as he took in a steady breath and blew it out softly. Inwardly he could feel the pulse of magic around him and given another second he began to see it floating all around him in small glowing orbs of light. which meant his magic was still inside of him. He took in another breath as he focused on the orbs surrounding him. He felt their strong against his body and then a cold breeze blew against him as the temperature turned degrees colder.

Karoku looked around them before bringing his eyes back to Gareki's." So you're using your magic? You know it won't work."

He ignored him as he kept up his focus and as he did the blade on his glaive turned from glowing blue to purple." I don't care what you say, I'm trying it anyway." Karoku eyed him angrily. The clouds in the sky started to rain down snow. He set his jaw in place." Don't think a little ice magic is going to hurt me."

Gareki held his glaive with both hands as he held it up strait against the ground. He focused and soon the blue glowing tribal tattoos on his arms turned bright purple as an invisible force of magic went through his body blowing all around him like a tornado. He felt his eyes turn purple as he kept up the spell.

Karoku stared at him with a vengeance as the anger boiled inside of him. His scythe was heavy in his hands as he focused all of his magic into the blade causing it to turn a dark red, he was going to use it right before Gareki's spell reached it's peak. He formed an invisible barrier around himself as he ran forward, scythe pulled up to the right ready to cut through the air and strike Gareki. He felt the cold air dying behind him as he ran turning it into a boiling heat as the magic flowed around him from the barrier.

Gareki eyed Karoku, expecting his spell to stop him but once he saw him cross through without being thrown back he immediately tried to block his hit with his own weapon held up in front of him. Karoku aimed for his stomach. And to Gareki's eyes everything was happening in slow motion as Karoku stopped a in front of him bringing his leg up forming a high kick as he kicked his glaive right out of his hands before bringing his scythe around and cut him right in the abdomen. Splatters of blood hit the ground as he made the unrelenting strike.

Gareki felt like he had been burned as he felt Karoku's blade cut through his skin. His concentration was broken as his spell broke away. He felt a heat rushing towards him from Karoku. he brought his arms up blocking himself as he flew backwards by the strong gush of wind. He flew through the air not yet registering he had just been cut until he fell on the ground where he could feel the pain of it all course through his body. His eyes and tribal tattoos turned back into a glowing blue.

He saw his glaive laying on the ground a few inches away from his hand. He stared at it before reaching for it with a weak hand but just as he had touched it with his finger tips Karoku took it from the ground and twirled it around." Poor. . . poor Gareki," he said slowly."I tried to tell you that you'd lose this fight, but you're just too stubborn, but points for trying though." he chuckled.

Gareki glared up at him as he laid on the dirt ground on his backside. He watched as his glaive disappeared by Karoku's hold on it. It could only be held in his hands. he felt blood leak from the long cut on his stomach and it hurt just like the pentagon engraving. Burning was all it was. Karoku took a few steps towards him as he crouched down with a wicked smile still on his face.

He held his hand up over Gareki's eyes and a black smoke swirled around his hand. "I win," he said softly just as he dropped the smoke right into his eyes making him fall unconscious.

 _The images were vivid ones Gareki remembered them like the scenes in front of him had happened yesterday. He saw it just after it had happened. The rage and sadness that came off of his mother as she sat on her knees by his father on the cold floors of the throne room. She yelled her rage to the guards to catch the Outsiders who by this time Gareki knew they had gotten away , escaping through a realm gate. The deed was done. They had fooled the king into giving them what they wanted and in return they killed him like the selfish ass holes they were._

 _He fell on his knees at that young age the death had happened and everything seemed faded into a black space, an empty space that had no emotion except the hard and brutal emotions of a prince who was left heartless. But there was light in the far distance. Shining brightly like the sun. He blinked a few times having to bring up his arm to block the brightness from his eyes. Why was it there? He didn't need it, he was far too cold to need something so. . .warm. But despite thinking this he stood up and began walking towards the light . Every small step he took made him grow taller as he reached the age he was now. 118._

 _The light was now a few feet in front of him. Gareki outstretched his arm and reached for it just as a hand reached out of the light and grabbed his pulling him through until he was on the other side—the brighter side. Gareki eyed the new area around him. It was empty but bright. He turned back and looked down at the hand holding his. He slowly brought his eyes up and followed the arm that lead to a person standing right in front of him._

 _Gareki blinked looking into the violate eyes of Yogi staring back at him. He couldn't even speak. What was he ding here?_

 _"Don't let your hatred take over you. . . " was all he said before everything began to fad away._

Gareki slowly opened his eyes feeling nauseous for a few seconds as he fully awoke from his odd dream. His vision was blurry as he tried to focus on the moving trees above him. He stared up at the cloudy sky before realizing that he was the one moving not the trees.

He blinked a few times gaining back his vision as his eyes looked around the area he was in. He was still in Laisra on the forest floor but he was being dragged. He felt something tight wrapped around his mouth, arms, and legs as he tried to move them but they didn't budge from their confinements. His senses came back to him and he noticed that vines were wrapped around him that would explain why it was so hard to move.

As his senses came back he began to feel the burning sensation of his fresh wound on his stomach. His breath hitched in his throat as the wound ignited like fire burning him. He struggled to keep himself from screaming. Karoku was going to pay once he got out of this.

"Oh so nice of you to join us." Karoku spoke, breaking him out of his thoughts as he walked ahead looking back at him." I'm surprised that you woke up this quickly but perhaps I didn't add enough of my dream gas."

"Fuck you!" Gareki snapped, he jerked trying one more time to get out of his binds. Karoku shook his head." My, my you sure have a mouth on you, I guess you're the type to wake up and have an attitude? It's fine though because after the ceremony you won't be waking up anymore."

Gareki growled at him." You won't get away with this!"

"Oh I think I already have," he stated as they all stepped into an opening in the woods where a big fire was sitting in the center of a pit." We're already here, say your prayers but I doubt they'll do you any good now." he smirked before turning away from him.

Gareki laid back down against the ground as Karoku's shadow beast dragged him towards the pit of fire where a pulley system was organized over it from a tall wooden pillar. He guessed they were going to lift him all the way up there and then the ceremony would begin. Fire torches lined the perimeter making the fog around them look evident as it floated above the ground.

He began to wonder where Yogi was and if he was still alive? He never thought he'd be thinking this but he hoped he was alive. At the rate things were going now he couldn't really summon up enough magic to get himself out of this situation so Yogi was his best bet right now—that is _**if**_ he survived.

The shadow beast that had been pulling him against the ground with a set of vines in his hand dropped them. He walked over to where Gareki's head was before lifting him up over his head like he weighed nothing. Gareki felt like he was going to fall into the pit of fire as the creature stumbled while walking on it's crooked legs against the wooden board that was over the pit like a bridge, but surprisingly the beast never dropped him which was a relief.

Another one of Karoku's henchman walked over and helped him wrap the vines around the wheel as they set up what was needed to pull him up over the fire. Gareki sighed as he clenched and unclenched his hand into a fist trying to summon up his magic but it was weak. He shouldn't of used it all on that one spell earlier, that had been stupid especially since he had been injured anyway. He was getting weaker by the minute as he stayed close to the heat of the fire. He always felt sick inside being this close to heat.

Both of Karoku's henchman walked off of the wooden boards that were almost burnt completely as the fire grew bigger down below.

Karoku stepped onto the wooden board before walking over to him. He examined the pillar behind Gareki before turning to look him in the eyes. The blood on his face had been cleaned away now but it left a long scratch. Gareki felt slight triumph for that. Karoku smiled at him, the fire below making his face looked shadowed in some places. His eyes sparkled a bit as the fire played against them.

"I can just taste your soul now, it's too bad though. I was really expecting a fight from you considering you are an Avatar but I'll just be satisfied with this scratch you made on my face and of course let's not forget your death that's about to happen now . . .you fear dying which makes it all the more enjoyable for me."

Gareki couldn't say anything because of his mouth being covered so instead he stared at Karoku plainly. Karoku smirked before turning away from him before walking away." Lift him up," he called out. Gareki felt a jerk as he began lifting up but as soon as he had lifted away from the wood he had been standing on it fell into the pit of fire burning away.

He felt anxiety wash over him as the heat built up beneath him. He could feel himself lose his energy as the fire grew higher getting closer to him. He needed an idea and now was a good time for anything. The fire was close to his feet now. He pulled his legs up as he felt the heat increase beneath his boots. He began to struggle against the vines wrapped around him. His magic had built up just a little and he used it to cool off some of the fire beneath him but it immediately grew higher almost burning him in the process.

He could see the smug look on Karoku's face, clearly he was enjoying every second of him struggling." Don't fight it. You have no where else to go!"

"I think he does," spoke a voice. Suddenly a bright light came from the woods and swirled all around Karoku and his shadow beast. They appeared to be Karoku's shadow demons but they had been transformed into something much more brighter. They all flew around Karoku and his henchman blocking them from moving forward.

Gareki stared at them in surprise. He heard a snap below him and looked down quickly. The wooden pillar that had been holding him up had just broken from the fire and now he was falling. Gareki yelled a muffled curse as he began to fall into the scorching heat but just before he did he felt another vine different from the others wrap around him and yank him away from the fire. He fell and rolled against the dirt ground before coming to a stop.

He looked up seeing Yogi working quickly against the vines to untie him. Gareki felt them fall away from his body and mouth." Are you okay," Yogi asked, getting to his feet before reaching down a hand to help him up. Gareki looked eyed him still feeling surprised, now at the fact that Yogi was alive. He grabbed his hand and howled himself to his feet." Yeah," he breathed." I'm fine, you?"

Yogi looked at him taken aback by his question. since when did Gareki ever ask him questions about his well being." Are you . . asking me that?"

Gareki shoved the dirt off of his shirt before keeping a firm hand on his wound feeling blood leak out of it." Well duh, are you?" Yogi nodded before looking at the blood dripping between his fingers." You're hurt."

Gareki turned around to see Karoku and his beasts fighting against the ghosts still but he knew that wouldn't keep them at bay." We don't have time to worry about me, you found the cave?" he turned back to face Yogi.

"Yeah, but—

"Let's go." Gareki ran into the woods feeling his strength return to him now that he was away from the fire. Yogi reluctantly ran after him." So what happened to you!?" he asked." I knew that bastard Karoku was still alive."

"That bastard Karoku you're talking about found me and tried to kill me with his scythe which is how I got hurt, then he took me here so he can get the other half of my soul."Gareki stated as he continued running.

Yogi frowned at the last part." Wait, wait. The other half of your soul?" he said in astonishment as he cut through over ground weeds." Are you telling me he already has a part of it, how is that even possible?"

Gareki turned to him." Well you're the one who killed him and because of that he came back to life by taking half of my soul, he left a pentagon on me. It's a Death Keeper marking that allows them to take half their victim's soul if they leave one on you."

"So it's technically my fault that he has half your soul now?"Gareki shrugged." Pretty much."

"Ohh well that's just great, I'm sorry. Is there anyway to get it back?"

"I'm afraid not, but then again I'm not sure. I don't know much about souls being place back inside bodies."

"Well if I am at fault here then at least allow me to patch you up, you're bleeding which is never a good sign." Yogi insisted as he looked behind them. There was no sign of Karoku and his henchman." We're clear to do it."

Gareki sighed before stopping." Fine, but just to let you know my magic isn't as strong as it was before thanks to my half soul being taken but I can still fight."

Yogi nodded." Good to know." he took of the black vest he was wearing now only sporting a long sleeve white button up shirt which was ripped in some places thanks to the scuffles they had been through. He rolled up his sleeves until they stopped above his elbows."Okay sit down."


	21. The Hard Choice Part 2

Gareki complied as he took a seat on the forest floor, Yogi crouched in front of him. Gareki pulled up his shirt revealing the bloody cut mark across his stomach. It hadn't hit anything internally important so that was good." It only scratched the surface." Yogi muttered as he ripped the vest in half before tying it around Gareki's abdomen tightly." We need to get you some help or find some kind of medicine."

Gareki placed his shirt back over his stomach." If we had a cocowa plant then I would definitely get my strength and heal faster."

Yogi bit his bottom lip before letting it go, he took in a breath." Okay how about you drink my blood just like you did at Gabriel's. It allowed your strength to come back and you healed quicker." he held out his wrist.

Gareki opened his mouth to protest but he hesitated to speak as he immediately eyed his wrist. Shaking his head quickly as he stared at the pulsing veins for too long." No, you're going to need as much energy as I do and I've only sucked your blood twice. There's still a chance I'll drink too much." he made a move to stand up but Yogi grabbed his arm pulling him back down."No you won't, you said it yourself. You were tempted but you never over drank."

Gareki glared at him. "No means no—

"I'm only trying to help you, you have no idea what it was like for me thinking that you were dead, so would you stop being stubborn and just drink my blood. . .please." Yogi said sternly, giving Gareki a hard look.

Gareki continued to glare at him. Seconds later his shoulders sunk down in defeat." Fine." he sighed as he grabbed Yogi's wrist, closing his eyes as he sunk his fangs into his skin. Yogi flinched slightly at the sharp pain but did nothing else as he watched Gareki suck his blood. Why did he have to be so stubborn? It was attractive in a way but that only made it harder to get over him.

Yogi sat back against the tree closing his eyes as he felt his blood pull in the direction of Gareki's mouth as he sucked. He could feel the warmth of Gareki's tongue liking away the blood from his soft skin before he pulled away. A feeling of absence taking over Yogi as he did. When Gareki sucked his blood it was a feeling of both pain and pleasure. But each time he had done it was enjoyable although Yogi would never admit it. He opened his eyes again before looking at Gareki who was looking away.

"I told you you wouldn't over drink." he said as they both stood up. Gareki turned to him an expressionless look on his face so when the next words came out of his mouth Yogi wasn't sure if he had meant them or not." Thank you, you know for saving my life the second time ."

Yogi stared at him in surprise." You're. . .welcome." as soon as the words had left his lips he heard running. Gareki's ears twitched and they both quickly turned around only to see Karoku and his shadow beasts running towards them.

"Aw shit," Gareki hissed before turning to Yogi."Let's go, come on!" they both began running again through the woods as Karoku and his army of shadow beasts gained speed behind them. Their feet stomping against the ground like a heard of horses as they came from every corner of the woods behind them. Both Yogi and Gareki jumped over a fallen tree failing to dodge the branch in their way as they both tripped to the ground over it.

Gareki grunted pushing himself back to his feet, helping Yogi up." We need to keep moving or else we won't make it through that cave."

"I know." Yogi said getting to his feet as they started running again. Yogi had lost track of the imaginary path he had been following in order to avoid shifts so it wasn't a surprise when he felt the world around them move in a circle right in front of their eyes as an invisible force shoved them forward stumbling into a different area of the woods.

"What the hell was that?" Gareki asked shoving dirt from his pants after he picked himself up from falling over again.

Yogi didn't answer him right away as he looked around at the familiar area." The cave should be around here." he walked forward continuing to examine the surroundings. Gareki eyed his back strangely before following him."

"Why aren't you running and you didn't answer my question," he stated flatly. Yogi turned to him." I don't think we need to run anymore, that was a shift just now which means we teleported in a different area of the woods, we're close to the cave now."

Gareki looked at their surroundings." Are you sure, it looks the exact—

"There they are, get them," yelled Karoku's voice from behind. Both of them turned around seeing his shadow demons run towards them, they turned back and began running all over again. "I hate this, he doesn't know when to give up." Gareki growled." Where's this cave you're talking about."

Yogi squinted as he looked in front of them a few feet away." Up ahead, behind those purple bushes." they both shoved aside long branches and leaves before finally making their way to the cave. But they didn't stop running until they pushed passed the bushes that were in front of the opening. Yogi lead him down the rocky path before stopping in a corner looking ahead of them before turning to Gareki." Do you still have the map?" he breathed trying to catch his breath.

Gareki stopped as well." Yeah, why?"

" We need to figure out which way we need to go because look there." he pointed to another opening that lead into another part of the cave. There were a bunch of other directions they could go in but they needed one specific trail. Gareki made the map appear in his hand before unrolling it." We need to get to Dampis Desert, which means we need to take the middle route."

In the distance they could hear foot steps running onto the path they were on." We need to go." Gareki said making the map disappear. They both ran down the middle route just as Karoku saw them. He ordered his henchman to follow them.

Yogi took another look behind them just as shadow beast crossed the corner running right after them with their crippled legs. They made loud growling sounds as they persisted after them." They're gaining on us again." Yogi said turning back around as the end of the cave was just ahead of them with a few distances away.

"Yeah and going to kill us if they don't shut up, this is a cave we're in it could collapse at anytime given this much noise they're making," Gareki said, agitatedly.

Yogi opened his mouth to say something but stopped himself as a loud cracking sound was heard beneath them echoing all through out the small cave they were in." I think you just jinxed us. "he looked at the ground as it began to crack open. Karoku's henchman stopped running after them when they saw the ground. They turned around and ran back until disappearing around the corner

"What the hell does that mean?"

"It means—

The floor beneath them cracked open even further from behind as rocks fell into the opening down below. From what Yogi saw it looked like a long drop down and it would definitely kill them depending on their landing. Both of them continued to run almost to the exit of the cave." That's what I mean," he yelled.

The ground broke away from them and they began to fall down only to land on a steep land slide full of rocks and pebbles. Both of them yelled as they landed and continued to move fast against the land slide. It seeming to push them down even faster to a big opening that looked as if they were still in a cave but deep down under ground as they kept descending. They tried to grab something to stop themselves but nothing held on long enough." What do we d," Yogi yelled, still trying to stop himself from sliding.

Gareki clawed against the ground trying to get a grip but small pebbles kept getting in his way." I don't know!" his voice echoed off the hollow walls.

They soon came to the end of the cave but definitely not what they had wanted as they both fell. Yogi quickly thought of an idea and yanked out his sword before stabbing it into the earth just as they both had fallen over the land slide, he grabbed Gareki's hand just in time as he fell over the edge. They both dangled from a tall height. Yogi held Gareki's hand tightly feeling his hand slip slightly but he only held onto it tighter.

Small rocks fell down on them before coming to a stop after a minute passed. "Okay. . .Gareki listen to me. I'm going to pull us up and then—

Yogi's sword cut through the earth and sunk them down lower. He immediately felt his heart skip a beat in his chest from the scare of falling. He had to rethinking the idea of pulling Gareki up now. One slight movement and then they'd be falling to their deaths. Gareki saw what had happened and sighed. A moment passed before any of them said anything." How about I just fall."

"What?!" Yogi snapped looking down at him like he was out of his mind. It was a long way down and he definitely wouldn't survive the fall." No, I'm not going to let you do that!"

"Yes you are, I'm not taking no for an answer drop me now and then everything will be fine."

"No! are you fucked in the head or something. I'm not doing that and I don't care if you can't take no for an answer. I'm trying to save your life right now and here you are talking about suicide!"

"Well how do you expect we get out of this? I'm all ears Yogi?!"

Yogi stopped talking abruptly as soon as he had said that. He had just said his name and if he was correct it was the first time. Yogi couldn't help but be surprised by this, was he finally respecting him? He shook his head." I don't. . .have an idea." he swallowed hard.

Gareki inhaled calmly before sighing." Okay." he said softly." I fall now and then at least you live, you said it yourself. You're so forward on getting back home then I'll hand you the map and you can find your way back on your own. Of course it'll be dangerous but you handled yourself this long even with out me."

"Gareki can you please stop talking, I'm not going to let you fall no matter what you say." Yogi bit his lip hard as his arm started to feel heavier as it grew tired.

Gareki blew out a quick breath that sounded like a scoff." That's surprising even through all the crap I've put you through and you've put me through, that's really heart warming." his voice sounded so void of emotion that it sounded like he wasn't even joking at the moment but Yogi knew he was.

"I'm sorry Gareki, I know that you're trying to help me right now. . . but really you're not. . .Yogi swallowed again keeping his emotions to himself." I get that you're changing yourself because of me and I'm glade that you did even just a little bit. But please, giving you're own life up just to save mine is too much. If you're going to die than I'm going out with you."

Gareki turned away from him not being able to say anything to stop him. It was Yogi's choice if he wanted to continue this adventure or not he didn't have a say in it, or rather he didn't have the right to tell Yogi what he should and shouldn't do considering this whole journey was because of him.

Another moment passed without them speaking and in Yogi's mind he had to make a tough decision. He thought about everything that he cared about everything that they had done so far all of it to just die in the end. But then he thought about living and going back home to save his sisters and kingdom but doing that would mean he would sacrifice Gareki. . . and he didn't want to do that either. Even if it was a hard choice to decide, he finally chose what he needed to do.

He stuck his feet to the side of the large rock wall before pulling hard until his sword came free from the earth allowing them both to fall.


	22. Fight For A Life

The cold air rushed past him. Pushing hard against his face and ears making a loud whooshing sound against his ear drums as they both free fell from the long height. Yogi closed his eyes allowing his emotions to take over as tears built up inside his eyes. He **_had_** to do it. . .he **_wanted_** to do it. Every impulse in his body told him to. So he listened and just complied with it.

Did he regret it. . .? No. But of course he should have thought better of the situation at hand even if the choices were tough. He thought of his mother and father. Back in the ice castle he remembered his mother's words telling him to make it back home. He had failed all because he cared too much about Gareki, but he wouldn't take his emotions back for anything. Gareki was a person too and he had willingly offered his own life just to save his. That was something Gareki wouldn't have done apon first meeting him, he was different now ever since he saved him from Karoku. Yogi couldn't allow him to die, the thought brought a terrible feeling of sadness to his heart.

The deed was done and now they were going to die. That had been his brave choice and things weren't going to change that.

For the next few seconds as he fell he kept his eyes closed feeling the ground nearing them. He wondered what it would be like to just die. Was it really an after life? Or would everything just be lights out? He would find out soon enough. He opened his eyes looking at the ground that had trees at the bottom along with what looked to be stone walls leading all over the place. . .like a maze. A question of what were trees doing in an underground cave surfaced in his mind but he pushed it away, the ground was nearing and they were about to be dead why was he worrying about a maze?

He closed his eyes again just as he felt a strong electrical force run through his entire body as if a current had just gone past him and before he could realize what it was he automatically blacked out.

Yogi breathed steadily as his brain came back into focus with the world around him. He opened his eyes a crack, looking around at his surroundings. Was he dead? If so then he hadn't expected heaven to look like this. His vision was blurred so he couldn't see properly yet. He closed his eyes again allowing himself to return to the darkness of his unconsciousness.

 _An hour later. . . ._

He felt a soft heaviness on his stomach, he could feel whatever it was move slowly up to his chest and he felt the presences of it's closeness with his face. A small breeze of it's breath fanned over Yogi's lips as he lay there with his eyes closed still. Just now feeling the tiredness in his body vanish as he woke up but kept his eyes closed.

Emerald green eyes stared at him curiously as the small animal cocked it's head in wonder. It lifted it's petite paw and tapped it on Yogi's face. He made no movements to open his eyes so the paw did it again, harder this time. Yogi just groaned, shutting his eyes more tightly.

The paw lifted back before being thrown forward slapping Yogi hard across the face and he immediately jumped up in a sitting position with a yelp of surprise." What the—?!" he asked stunned as he looked around quickly.

"Well good I was starting to believe you were dead, human," said a some what deep British voice. Yogi's eyes widened slightly as he slowly turned down to his lap to be met with the emerald green eyes of a Russian Blue. Yogi was speechless. He cocked his head at the cat as it stared blankly up at him with curious eyes.

It hadn't just talked. Right? Maybe in heaven cats had the skill to speak? No that wasn't likely. Yogi blinked at the cat." Where did that voice come from?" he asked looking around at his new surroundings still thinking he was in heaven.

"It came from me. Don't be so surprised. I can tell you're not from around here. Where did you come from falling out of the sky like that?"

Yogi leaned back against his hands as he stared at the cat in shock. Okay. . . Faeries, Death Keepers, and Avatarians was one thing. B-but talking cats? Yogi had stepped into an all new world of insane. He stared at the cat in awe." Y-you just. . .spoke to me."

The Russian blue flicked it's tail." Yeah, and I can do a lot of things. You definitely aren't from around here. I didn't just save your life so you could just stare at me like I'm a new species." Yogi's lips parted speechlessly at the words the cat had just said as he looked around at the vines growing on the tall stone walls leading into other directions and corners." Wait. . .I'm alive? Who are you?"

"My full name is Pastelian Grimaculous but you can just call me Pastel and yes last time I checked I saved your life and your heart was beating good and well. . .so indeed you're very much alive. So, who are you then?"

Yogi shook his head slowly still a bit in disbelief." My name is Yogi, Prince of the Sun Kingdom in Rimahakka. . . it's in another realm." he touched half the amulet around his neck to make sure it was there and luckily it was.

"I knew you were an Outsider," Pastel confirmed, leaping off of Yogi's lap and instead sat on the ground staring at him with his tail constantly flicking behind him.

"I'm not here for bad intentions like most Outsiders are. I only want to get back home." his voice was serious when he said this. Pastel looked down and Yogi noticed he had three thin black strips running across all four of his ankles looking like bracelets but were actually his fur. "Don't we all. Take a good look at this place, would you?"

He looked up at the sky but realized there wasn't one. It was a sealing of a cave high up with big holes to the outside world that showed the night sky above. From what he could see, there was dark golden sand streaming in like small water falls. But before they reached the ground they turned into little golden sparkles as if it were pixy dust. The cave he was in was a large one with tall rocky walls being the perimeter all around them. They brightened up with the colors of aqua blue and green highlights against the dark making the cave have a light source within itself. It was breath taking and beautiful.

But Yogi couldn't miss the fact that he was confined in a maze with actual growing trees and bushes inside of it with glowing moss and grass flooring that felt soft to the touch. Vines grew on the dark stoned walls all around him with rare breeds of plants and flowers he hadn't seen before. They glowed along with the moss covering the ground.

Yogi continued looking around." Where am I," he whispered.

"You have fallen right into the maze of Lim Fay. Don't let it fool you, this place is meant for Outsiders like you." Yogi turned back to him." What's that supposed to mean?"

"Who ever enters the maze of Lim Fay it kills them within a two day period because of the traps and puzzles that are made in this place all for the sake of protection over Queen Eva's jewels. You're an Outsider so it's obvious you'll try and steal her treasures rather you're good or not she won't believe you, she thinks almost everyone is after he precious gems." the cat rolled his big eyes

"If you know so much about the queen's jewels and are obviously her pet or whatever then why are you telling me this if you think I would want to steal it from her?" Yogi asked.

The cat chuckled." Oh I know you do and I'm not her pet, my real owner is Nai Arumirita, King of Kiridian Empire some where off in the Dampis Desert. I lost my way from his castle a while back and some how got myself trapped down here, in queen Eva's kingdom and I haven't been able to get myself out. I guess this is the part when I say I only saved you and your friend's lives so you can help me get out of this wretched place and escort me back home. In return I'll give you all the jewels you want from Eva's treasure."

Yogi nodded thinking about his request. He didn't want the jewels but he was okay with getting him out of here and back home. . .well that is if Gareki would allow it, they were both still on the journey to get to the Realm Gates. Gareki. . . ? Yogi's heart skipped a beat thinking about him and suddenly an overwhelming feeling of worry and panic filled him. "We'll talk about this latter but now I need you to tell me where my friend is," Yogi said urgently as he got to his feet quickly.

He looked around not seeing any sign of him." Where is he?"

"It depends on what he looks like for me to be able to locate him," Pastel said, hoping on top of a stone wall. Yogi didn't waste anytime explaining as he numbered them off quickly." Let's see, he has black hair, a blue tail, he's kind of shorter than me but he comes up close to my shoulder, he's pale, he's wearing a black sleeveless button up—

Pastel laughed." Okay calm down, I'm just joking with you. It's not everyday you see falling Avatarians in Lim Fay, but I know exactly what he looks like. I've seen his kind before. Follow me, but watch your step it has traps in this place. Remember that."

Yogi nodded as he began following him watching his step the entire time as they walked through the long passage ways of the maze, turning corner after corner. It was a few minutes before Yogi had noticed his first trap. It was a simple string tide trap that would probably open up something deadly. he gradually stepped over it but failed to notice the hidden string under the plants as he stepped on and no sooner had he done it he heard a snap from above. He looked up and saw a net of big rocks falling his way quickly.

"Don't just stand there! Move it!" Pastel leapt from the stone wall and shoved him out of the way just in time before he was trampled. The rocks slammed to the ground loudly. Yogi fell forward to his hands and knees, feeling the small feet of Pastel on his back.

"Do you have a death wish?" he snapped jumping down as Yogi stood up again dusting himself off." No of course not. It just. . . took me by surprise."

Pastel sighed as he waltzed forward." Whatever just remember that you and your friend are the only ticket of me getting out of here. Let's get a move on. Your friend is just up ahead and from the looks of him falling he didn't look so good."

Yogi eyed Pastel as they began walking again. Just now thought of a question." How did you exactly save us?"

"I saved you both by using my weight displacement spell, it allows you to weigh less and float down like a feather. But of course the spell has already warn off. You'd be tumbling down to your knees if it were still on you or perhaps you'd be blown away by the wind."

"So you said that Gareki wasn't looking so good when you saw him, how long ago was that?"

"About an hour ago I saw you two falling. You were the one who landed closest to the area I was in so I came to you first. Your friend Gareki landed a bit of a distance away from you. Apparently my weight displacement spell sent him falling in a totally different direction from where you were falling considering his body was like a feather, like I've told you before."

Yogi nodded before looking up and he immediately saw Gareki laying on the ground with his back facing them as he laid there motionless. The feeling of panic and worry resurfaced inside Yogi as he quickly ran over to him and landed on his knees before placing his hands on his arm, shacking him slightly."Gareki. . . .Gareki? Come on say something."

Yogi pulled him turning him on his backside before placing both his hands on each side of Gareki's face. His eyes were closed and his face appeared paler. Yogi rubbed his thumb over Gareki's cheek before lifting a hand up. He pull his eye lid up revealing his slit iris. It wasn't as blue as it had been before. It appeared paler which wasn't a good sign.

He turned to look at Pastel but he had disappeared. Yogi sighed not wasting time to look for him as he turned back to Gareki.

"Ohh Gareki ," Yogi muttered under his breath in dismay as he lifted himself up. He sat there staring at his beautiful face not sure of what to do. He wasn't dead yet but he would be considering he was so close. A redness in the corner of his eye caught his attention. Examining over Gareki's body he notice a redness was on his fingers. It was blood. A lot of it.

Yogi raised his hands and began to unbutton his shirt all the way up to the collar. His shirt now completely opened fell to the sides of his toned chest and stomach. Yogi paused for a second, eyeing the ink black tribal tattoos on his chest before moving his eyes down to his stomach. He saw the black pentagon he had told him about and just below that he saw the bleeding wound, but his vest wasn't as tide tightly as he had left it. It must have come undone when they were on the land slide.

"I brought you water," spoke Pastel. Yogi whipped his head around not expecting the voice. Pastel had appeared out of no where but he didn't question it. He had more important thins to worry about. Pastel brought forward the little wooden make shift bowl full of water and placed it down near Yogi.

Yogi ripped the vest until it came in half, he then placed one of them into the water making sure to soak it entirely before he lifted it and rung it out, dabbing it over Gareki's wound to clean the blood away. Apparently he hadn't healed quick enough considering he was bleeding out. But Yogi thought about that. Last time Gareki had been injured Gabriel was there to put medicine on his wound and Yogi had been there for him so he could drink his blood.

The problem now was they didn't have any medicine, that was clearly the reason why Gareki was in such a state now. He didn't need just blood but medicine as well. Yogi pride his brain for an idea and he had recalled when Gareki had said a cocowa plant would make him heal faster.

That was what he needed. Yogi turned to Pastel." Does this place with it's wide range of plant life have a cocowa plant."

"Yes, but if you're planning on using it then you'll need other herbs as well. I'll get them for you." he turned and began running but stopped and turned his head back to Yogi." Find a small rock, you'll need it." he began running again.

Yogi turned away from him and scoured the ground for a rock but he didn't see one. He kept the soggy fabric of his vest on Gareki's wound before getting to his feet." I'll be right back," he said not expecting Gareki to open his pale blue eyes at that very second. He looked around before his eyes landed on Yogi.

"Are we dead. . .," he asked weakly.

Yogi felt his breath catch in his throat making it hard to breathe. He kneeled down in front of him." No, we're alive. But I need to help you."

Gareki averted his eyes away, looking up at the large cave sealing. His eyes stayed like that for a moment not blinking or moving a muscle on his body and for a heartbreaking moment Yogi thought he was dead but then Gareki finally blinked and Yogi could breathe again feeling his heart rate go back to normal from the over excitement. "I feel terrible. What happened to us?"

"I'll explain everything to you after I find a rock."

Gareki frowned at him as he mentioned the rock but he didn't say anything else as he closed his eyes again. Yogi sighed, turning away from him as he scoured the ground again having to walk a few feet in order to find a palm sized rock sitting on the ground. Picking it up he made his way back to Gareki and sat down next to him.

Once again Gareki was motionless as his eyes opened, staring lazily up at the cave sealing. This only made Yogi even more worried for him." Gareki?" he hesitantly asked.

It took a few seconds for him to look at Yogi as if he were forcing his eyes away from the cave sealing. "What?"

"I'm going to need you to talk to me. Are you okay?"Gareki looked back up at the sealing." I'm not okay. . .I'm seeing colors and . . .the world around me is blurring up." Yogi hadn't missed the way he had slurred some of his words.

Yogi inhaled keeping his nerves calm but he couldn't help but to think for Pastel to hurry up. He lifted his fingers in front of Gareki snapping them." Come on, just pay attention to me. Can you tell me what you can see?"

Gareki blinked a few times before looking back at Yogi. His eyelids drooping. "It's pulling. . .me."

"Whoa w-what's pulling you?" Yogi said urgently. Gareki didn't answer right away as his eyes closed. Yogi quickly reached forward and placed his hands behind him pulling him up with one hand on the small of his back while the other held the back of his head." No Gareki! wake up! You can't fall asleep on me. If you do then you won't wake up. Open your eyes and tell me what's pulling you?"

Gareki sighed opening his eyes again but only a little. "The. . .bright light." his eyes closed again and slowly his head fell to the side. Yogi couldn't breathe straight as he let go of his head to see if he would hold it up but he didn't. It fell back lazily like it was dead weight." Oh God. . .Gareki! N-no-no-no. Open your eyes." Yogi's voice came out in a panic as he set his body back down. He quickly pushed his ear to his chest and only heard the slight thudding of his heart but it was going slower by the second.

Fear laced with panic as Yogi brought his hands up to either side of his face once again as he began shaking him slightly." Gareki open your eyes! You can't fall asleep. Listen to me." Yogi breathed before continuing." If you can hear me don't go towards the light, you have to fight the pull Gareki you're not dying—not when I'm here with you. You better be fighting for your life other wise what kind of prince would you be!? I know you can make it through this."

Yogi could feel tears sting his eyes feeling as though daja` vu was happening all over again with his mother and father's deaths. Anther person he cared about was falling into the clutches of death." Gareki. . ."Yogi crooked out as a tear fell from his eye. He clenched his jaw." You better be fighting for your life." he said through clenched teeth meaning every word.


	23. Afriad To Leave Him

_**Music choice—Skylar Grey—I Know You**_

 _ **I Believe, I believe**_

 _ **There's Love In You**_

 _ **Gridlocked On The Dusty Avenues**_

 _ **Inside Your Heart, Just Afraid to**_

 _ **Go**_

 _ **REVIEW/ FAVORITE—Thanks and sorry for my absence**_

* * *

Yogi kept a hand on Gareki's chest. He could feel the slight thudding of his heart which was a relief. But the question still held high in his head. How long could he keep fighting to stay alive? Pastel needed to get here. He understood that they were in a maze where everything looked the same that anyone could easily get lost but still, time was ticking.

But Pastel did say he had been stuck here for a while so he should know his ways around this place. So it didn't quite make sense for him to be lost. Yogi sighed, moving the thought out of his head trying to think positive instead. "Everything's fine," he muttered, moving a hand through his blond locks." Pastel is just looking for medicine."

Yogi moved his eyes over to Gareki's wound, which he had tied and cleaned up in the last 3 minutes he had been waiting for Pastel to get back. He averted his eyes up to his face. Some of his fringe had fallen on his closed eyelids as he breathed steadily through his nose. Yogi could see his eyes were moving behind his closed lids as if he were dreaming something like a nightmare but maybe he was fighting to live like he had told him to.

 _Good he heard my voice_. Yogi thought wiping under his eyes from crying earlier. He couldn't hold back the small smile that made it's way to his lips. He moved his hand down to Gareki's face moving away the black strands of hair before placing his finger tips on his forehead. Suddenly the amulet brightened around his neck. Yogi looked down at it, grabbing it with his other hand curiously before looking at Gareki again. He felt light headed as sudden bright flashes snapped themselves in his mind. There was a pulling sensation and he felt it pulling his conscience towards Gareki's forehead where his finger tips were placed. Everything went black after that.

He felt different. Out of place. His eyes opened, looked up to see a big ball of bright light moving towards him slowly. Yogi frowned in confusion as he tried to get himself to his feet but he couldn't move. He stared up at the big ball of light slowly floating down to him. He felt it pulling him—attracting his mind and body in some way. He felt like a piece of medal being pulled by a magnet.

Everything was black and white even himself except for the big golden ball of light above him, gradually getting closer. He was surrounded by a black dome it appeared to be bigger than what he thought it was at first. His eyes looked over to the right side but what he saw next startled him. Looking up he saw himself sitting there with his arm outstretched towards where he was laying on the ground. He could feel his own finger tips pressed on his forehead as he stared up at himself. A worried look frozen on his face as he stared down unblinking. It was like his body was frozen.

Yogi stared at himself in shock. The last thing he remembered was being sucked into another vision moving towards Gareki's head and now here he was. . .in Gareki's the ball of light above him was the light Gareki had been talking to him about that was pulling him. It all made sense now but it also was so strange. He hadn't known he could do this ability of switching bodies while in a vision.

But what was his purpose being here? Last time it had been a vision about Vileus's henchman coming after him in the ice castle and that had meant something. So maybe him being in Gareki's body meant something too.

Yogi tried to move his arms. He felt something hard and cold in his right hand and he focused on moving that hand up to his face so he could see what it was. It felt like his entire body was stiff, making it hard for him to move as he slowly moved his arm up to his face. At first he saw whatever it was shine golden thanks to the light shining against it but as it died down he saw that it was his amulet because of the red gem engraved into the center.

So it had come with him into the vision. Oddly enough it felt like he could use it against the bright light that was continuously coming towards him. It had placed itself just a few inches above his body now. But suddenly it stopped. Yogi stared blindly up at it. It was so bright like the sun that he had to blink constantly to be able to see.

The stiffness of his body lifted away now as he felt himself being pulled towards the light again. He could move and he needed to take advantage of it. Yogi quickly dug his fingers into the ground, pulling himself back down. If he let Gareki's body go into the light then he would die, he couldn't allow that to happen. Yogi gripped onto the ground with one hand and pushed his body to the ground as he lifted up the amulet to the bright light.

He felt like he could do something with it maybe he could speak to the light and persuade it to stop what it was doing just like he had done with Karoku's shadow demons and turned them against him. Suddenly hands reached out of the light and grabbed a hold of his wrist trying to pull him in. They were strong causing Yogi to lose his grip on the ground but he quickly re-dug his fingers into the dirt as he began his spell.

"Gods from above I call apon thee to bestow the power within my body to fight against the forces pulling on this body now. Please set him free from the clutches of these angels." Yogi held the amulet tighter in his hand as the hands wrapped around him scratched him trying to pull him in or trying to get the amulet out of his hand.

The amulet brightened reacting to the spell as it began burning away the hands as they immediately pulled back disappearing inside the ball of light in front of him. He kept the amulet held up. He was sure they were going to come out again.

"Yogi prince of Rimahakka," spoke a women's voice. It echoed in his ears sounding profound and noble. He looked around searching for where it had come from." look forward." he turned back around and saw a head coming out of the bright light. Her hair was curly brunette, long and flowing past her shoulders. When she opened her eyes they were a dark purple.

She moved her arms out of the bright light and rested them both on the ground, placing her chin on them both. Yogi looked up at her—way up. She was a goddess a giant one at that. She had a glowing light surrounding her body making her appear brighter.

Yogi felt confusion place itself in his mind. Wasn't this supposed to just be a vision? It didn't seem that way now. Everything felt real unlike last time. Last time felt like he was dreaming and then he was soon taken back to reality. But this time he was staying longer than he thought he was.

"You're having a realistic vision. It last longer than a regular vision and it makes you feel as though you're in the real world.

He picked himself up in a sitting position."Who are you? How did you know it was me in this body?"

"I could sense that it was you from the very moment I saw that amulet around your neck." she eyed the amulet around his neck before looking at his face." My name is Eden, I'm leader of the angels. I'm sorry for their behavior but they're just excited for a new body to be brought to the other world. I'm excited too."

Yogi shook his head." I'm sorry, but this body I'm in now is a friend of mine, and I care about him. I can't let you take him from me, he's important."

Eden blinked before crossing her arms."Your friend has already lost half his soul so he's close to death already, meaning he'll need to come with me and face his fate at dying." Yogi's face straighten as she mentioned the last part. he sighed." I'm sorry if I'm being selfish, but I still can't allow you to have him. He still has a job he needs to do."

"Oh." her eyebrows lifted intrigued." What job would that be?"

"He's the only person to show me to the realm gates, without him I can't possibly make it there on my own."

"Yes you can," she stated knowingly." I've been watching you and I know you, Yogi. This world may be dangerous for those who are new to it but you have obviously proven to be strong enough to make it through the troubles this place has thrown at you. You don't need Gareki. You make yourself think you do as an excuse for what you really feel."

Yogi was taken aback by her words. He blinked a few times in surprise." I don't know what—

"You only think you can't make it on your own in this world because you want him to stick by you. You've lost so much and now you've found a person that has a similar loss just like you have and so now you've found a reason to care about him and that feeling of care is turning into love."

Yogi stared at her in surprise for a moment. Could he really deny that? He knew he had told himself to get over Gareki but the way she was speaking told him he wasn't getting over anything. It was as if his feelings towards the Avatar were growing despite not wanting them to. He was speechless for a few seconds before slowly speaking." You can't take him to Heaven, not yet anyway. I know that his soul is already half way gone but I'll find a way to restore it. Can that just be our deal?"

She smiled in amusement." A deal huh?" she lifted a finger to her lips in thought." I always found you interesting Yogi, and you definitely don't deserve to be sad over your friend's death especially since you love him. I'll offer you a deal but you may not like it."

"Tell me," he urged, wanting to hear it immediately.

Her smile disappeared replaced with a serious look."I won't kill him just yet. I'll offer you three days to get his soul restored but if those three days are up then I'll automatically kill him and he'll be brought up to the Heaven gates. You won't be able to save him, he'll be dead. Understood?"

She was right. Yogi didn't like the deal but it was the only offer to keep Gareki alive for a bit longer. He sighed reluctantly agreeing." Okay. . . deal."

She smiled again. "Good, I'm sure you'll see to it not to let him die." with those words said she disappeared into the ball of light. Yogi watched it fade away. Yogi closed his eyes and felt himself being pulled back into the real world. He slowly opened his eyes and saw Pastel sitting next to him with a bowl of dark purple sludge with a rock in his mouth smashing the herbs inside of it.

He was back in his own body now. He reached a hand up to his head rubbing it from the light headed feeling that was slowly going away now. He looked over to Gareki who still had his eyes closed, sleeping. Yogi moved his finger tips away from his forehead before turning to look at Pastel again." You're here." he sounded surprised considering he had taken so long to get back he had thought he'd gotten lost.

Pastel stopped what he was doing and looked up at Yogi. He dropped the rock into the bowl." Good you're awake, mix this stuff up will you? And tell me what happened to you? you were out of it for the longest of moments just sitting there like a statue."

Yogi reached over and picked up the bowl and rock and began mixing."I'm sorry, I was in another vision of mine. How's Gareki doing?"

Pastel eyed him before looking at Gareki." Well he's breathing a lot more now ever since you awoke from your vision. Has that been happening to you often?"

Yogi assumed that Gareki was breathing better now because he had said yes to the deal Eden and himself had made. But he wondered why the vision had started in the first place. Was it meant for something? Or maybe it had happened just so he could meet Eden. He thought about it forgetting all about Pastel's question.

Pastel cleared his throat snapping Yogi out of his thoughts." Oh, No they haven't. They actually just started recently. I guess it's because of the amulet fully excepting me." Yogi said the last part mostly to himself. Pastel twitched his ear as he eyed the half amulet hanging from Yogi's neck. "That's some kind of jewelry you got there but it doesn't look like much to me."

"Don't underestimate it, it's more stronger then what you think." Yogi claimed, still stirring the sludge.

"Oh really, then what's the history with it? I can't help but notice it's been ripped in half." Yogi sighed as unwanted images of that day came back into his head. He wondered if his sisters were still alive and not to mention if his kingdom had been completely over run by darkness by now but then again it couldn't have been considering Vileus was still sending henchman after him. They were still trying to get the other half of the amulet which could only mean the darkness wasn't spreading to the Sun Kingdom fast enough without the entire amulet in his grasp.

His guess was that half his castle was turned into the hellish realm by now which was good and bad depending on how many places Gareki and himself still needed to pass through on the map. He told Pastel the whole story of how the amulet had been passed down to him, even going through the parts where it had been broken in half.

"Wow, that must be really important to you," he said in awe. Yogi nodded." you have no idea, anyway I've stirred this medicine long enough where do I put it? I'm not used to this sort of thing since I've never made medicine from plants before."

"Put it on his wound." Yogi reached forward and slowly unwrapped the fabric from around Gareki's stomach. He watched as Gareki frowned in discomfort as he continued to sleep. Yogi dipped two of his fingers into the purple sludge and dragged it across Gareki's wound. He made sure it was all placed correctly and layered." So what will this stuff do to him?"

"It'll close up that bleeding wound on his stomach until it's completely repaired. But we'll need to reapply it every now and then."

Yogi nodded." Right." he studied Gareki's sleeping form before placing the bowl down to the side." We've been running around a bunch and we don't have any place to sleep. Do you know a place?"

"Well I wouldn't say I know a place but I know a good spot, follow me." Pastel picked up the bowl with his mouth and began walking. Yogi stood up and crouched down picking Gareki up bridal style. He was completely like a limp doll as his head fell back. He was out of it that was for sure and who knew when he'd wake up, but hopefully it'd be soon.

He walked, following Pastel to the spot he was talking about. He led Yogi carefully through the maze as to not trigger any traps." Step exactly where I step." he would say as they passed those hidden strings that would send rocks falling down in an attempt to trample them. Eva must've been really protective over her jewels considering every where they went there was always some kind of trap.

Finally through a hurdle of traps later they made it to the spot. It was an open small area in a few turns of the maze that lead to a square shaped space. So there was room for a three of them without the worry of a trap being placed there. Yogi walked over next to a tree and laid Gareki on the soft grass. He stayed there for a few seconds studying him. What Eden said came back to his mind. His emotions for him were growing and they were only going to keep doing that until he let them free, in which he would need to tell Gareki. Correct?

The more he thought about it the more he wasn't confident about revealing it. He could just imagine Gareki's reaction and it wasn't pretty. Being rejected was both disappointing and a relief because then his feelings would leave him. He hadn't wanted to fall for Gareki in the first place knowing how different they were but his feelings were only growing and they had caught up with him when he least expected them to. It was going to be hard getting rid of them, he now understood that especially since he wasn't sure if he would have enough confidence to tell Gareki. But he was sure he would at some point just to get it off his chest.

"He's not going anywhere so you don't have to watch him like that," spoke Pastel. Yogi turned away from Gareki and eyed Pastel before standing up." We should make a fire—a small one I don't want him near it considering he can't be near heat so it's just going to be for me and you."

Pastel nodded."It is cold in here. I'll go find some fire wood."

"Are you sure? I could come with you." Yogi asked, not feeling as though one little cat can carry fire wood. Pastel shook his head." I know my way around better, and I know where traps are placed. Stay here with your friend." he jumped up on the stone wall and began walking before hopping down on the other side out of sight.

Yogi stared after him before turning around noticing a few rocks on the ground. He picked them up and placed them in a circle where the fire would be. He sat down cross legged looking up at the cave sealing in silence. Everything was silent except for crickets chirping in the distance. He looked down and pulled his sword from it's holster. He placed it to the side of him.

It was going to be uncomfortable sleeping with his sword still on him. His mind went back to thoughts about Gareki. Eden had told him something that hadn't left his mind since the meeting they had. He couldn't leave Gareki. Although he did know this journey they were on would have to end at some point but what would happen when it did? Where would Gareki go? He was banished.

The point was, he felt a since of loneliness thinking of having to leave Gareki. Even when he had offered his own life so he could live and carry on with getting to the realm gates by himself he hadn't done it because he didn't want to let that feeling of loneliness take over him again like it had done with his parents and sisters. If he was going to the realm gates then he would make it there with Gareki at his side. Eden had said the truth about what he felt and once again he was just now realizing it.

Suddenly in the corner of his eye he saw Gareki stir as he began to wake up. Yogi picked up the bowl of sludge Pastel had left before walking over to him and sat crossed legged again." You're awake, good."

Gareki moved a hand to his head as he sat up in a sitting position. "I'm still alive?"

"Yeah, you are." Yogi said, placing the bowl down. He remembered the deal him and Eden made but he was trying to think of a way to explain it to him." How are you feeling?" Gareki sighed looking at his surroundings." Like some one cracked my head open. Where are we?" he grumbled.

"Lim Fay. We're in a death maze that belongs to queen Eva. We were saved by a cat named Pastel who ended up in here by mistake but in exchange for saving our lives he wants both of us to take him to Kiridian Empire where Nai Arumirtia is. He says it's his owner." he explained in one breath. Gareki stared at him like he hadn't gotten any info from that explanation. But he did.

He shook his head and sighed again as he pulled up one knee and sat his el-bow on top of it."He was a talking cat wasn't he?"

Yogi nodded." Yeah."

"And you agreed with the deal of taking him back?"

Yogi nodded again." Is that a problem?"

"Yes I would like to know if that is a problem?" Pastel's voice interrupted. He leaped down from the stone wall and patted over to them with a small stack of floating fire wood behind him." That's Pastel." Yogi pointed out for Gareki to know.

Pastel set the wood down and walked over to them before sitting. He looked at Gareki." Well is it?"

Gareki ignored him and looked at Yogi with a hard look on his face." We have to cross through Dampis Desert not make any pit stops on the way unless you want more of Vileus's henchman running after you in a wide open space of a sand city."

"I'm sure it won't be that far from where we need to go. Where do we need to go anyway?"

"We're heading over seas and that means we need to catch a boat before they're all gone which also means we can't waist time taking a cat back home." he turned to Pastel." You're going to have to find your own way back, we have our own things to do."

"Gareki." Yogi protested, getting his attention." He saved us, we owe him that much at least. We'll make it quick returning him home."

"Oh is that really a good idea?" Gareki asked crossing his arms sounding irked." Last time I checked we almost died and we can't get any more close calls Yogi, we can't waste time. Vileus's henchman are still after us and I'm sure they already know by now that I've been helping you. So they're going to want to kill me too."

"If you can't help me get out of here then how are you two going to get yourselves out considering I know one other option I haven't tried before in a means to escape." Pastel injected. Both of them turned to the cat.

"What are you talking about?" Yogi asked.

"As long as I've been stuck in this maze I know my way around and I've tried multiple ways to get out except for one." Both Gareki and Yogi gave each other eyeing looks before averting them back down to the cat."What?" they both simultaneously said.

"We need to go to queen Eva's castle."


	24. The Deal

Gareki sat back against the tree." How is that going to help us? From what Yogi told me, this is a death maze which means she obviously doesn't want anyone to get inside her castle."

"Queen Eva is a lot of things but she isn't completely ruthless." Pastel stated as he brought his paw up and licked himself." You two are definitely the oddest sight I have ever seen in this maze considering you're both supposed to be enemies— technically. But your friend here has told me the story of what you two have been through together to get here. Maybe if you tell queen Eva of what you're really after then she'll let you pass. But there's obviously going to be a catch."

Gareki's eyebrows creased making the shadows around his eyes look darker." What is that supposed to mean?"

Pastel sighed, placing his paw back to the ground." I've seen her a couple of times to know how she acts towards her people. She is royalty and almost all royalty has some kind of catch for those who really want something."

Both Yogi and Gareki exchanged looks again before looking back at Pastel.

"Well that's just great. I don't have anything to give her," Gareki muttered. Pastel flicked his tail before adding on." Oh believe me she'll find something that you both can give her. She isn't cheap so she'll try to take the most valuable things from you."

Yogi subconsciously gripped onto his amulet as soon as the words left his mouth. "That doesn't sound good. . .at all."

"I know, but it's our best bet at getting ourselves out of here gentlemen," Pastel said confidently. He eyed Gareki knowing he had the upper hand at getting them to take him back home."So what's it going to be, Gareki?" Gareki glared at him thinking about his options. Apparently Pastel would be a big help considering he knew this maze from the back of his paw and since it was a maze of traps then Yogi and himself wouldn't make it half way without getting themselves killed. Sighing in defeat he agreed." Fine, you help us get out of this underground cave then we take you back home, wherever you said it was."

"It's in the North of Dampis Desert, you can't miss the tall sand buildings they have."

Gareki rolled his eyes as he sat crossed legged." Just the thought of it makes my skin crawl with warm goose bumps and that's not the kind I like."

Yogi looked at Gareki in curiosity. He didn't know why he hadn't thought of it before It honestly should've crossed his mind when he had first said they'd need to cross through the desert. Wasn't it going to be bad for him when he got in the heat? He was made for the cold. He would need to ask him about it later on.

"You'll be fine as long as you keep your magic up." Pastel said.

Gareki kept quiet, not mentioning the fact that his magic was still weak from his soul being half gone." I need to wrest my head. "he changed the subject as he laid down turning himself so his back was facing them.

Pastel got up on all fours before leaping onto the stone wall again." I'll go get some more fire wood, I already know that small stack isn't going to last very long." Yogi watched him jump down, out of sight. He turned back to Gareki only seeing he was still laying on his side turned away.

He got up and walked over to the circle of rocks before putting a small stack of sticks into the center. Pastel had forgotten how they would need to start the fire but it was fine. Yogi guessed this was an occasion where his magic over the sun came in handy. He crouched down and raised his hand over the sticks and focused his magic; feeling warmth grow in the palm of his hand as he unleashed it onto the sticks. A spark of fire ignited, slowly growing bigger.

Yogi sat down lifting both his hands towards it feeling it warm his skin with that same feeling of comfort the sun gave him. He wished he could see it again and actually feel it against his skin but the fire was enough. . . for now anyway. But once they reached the desert then he could soak up all the sun he wanted but still the thought of Gareki's well being resurfaced in his head.

He looked over to where he laid on the ground under the tree. It was about time to reapply the medicine. He moved away from the fire and walked over to him before sitting down again." Gareki?"he whispered.

He didn't answer. He called out his name again but louder this time. He heard him breathe in before slowly turning to him." What?" he exhaled.

"I'm going to need to put medicine on your wound. Let me see it."he looked confused for a second before remembering the cut on his stomach. He turned himself on his back." What medicine are you talking about?"

"Pastel was able to find that cocowa plant you were telling me about in Laisra. You were too weak to heal yourself so we needed medicine to heal you completely." Yogi held up the bowl of purple sludge for him to see. Gareki eyed it before closing his eyes." Yeah that would be it alright."

Yogi placed the bowl back down before lifting his fingers over the hem of Gareki's shirt, pushing it up without hesitation; once again revealing his toned bare chest and stomach staring back at him. He applied the medicine just like he had done the first time making sure it was layered perfectly to cover up the entire wound." Does this hurt you at all now that you're awake?"

Gareki cracked his eyes open, looking up at him." Little bit but it's gotten better," he answered meekly. Yogi nodded." Good." he wiped the rest of the sticky thick sludge on his wound before pulling his shirt back down. Gareki continued staring at him and Yogi caught his eyes, pausing to look at him.

A comfortable silence took place for a moment as they continued to look at one another. Gareki broke the eye contact first as he blinked and looked away as if nothing had happened. Yogi realized what he had just did and looked down at his hands. Another moment of silence came before it broke.

" So you're being a hero again, huh?" Gareki questioned, turning to look at him again.

Yogi blinked not expecting the question." What do you mean?" he eyed him confusedly.

Gareki picked himself up into a sitting position and leaned his back on the tree behind him as he faced Yogi." During the whole fall thing, you know what you did and you had a chance and now. . .you blew it. "he crossed his arms." You could have lived Yogi. Why do you keep helping me even after everything I've done to you?"

He opened his mouth to say something but words didn't come out. He was speechless for a minute before he thought of what to say that wouldn't reveal too much of how he really felt towards him." You're a person just like me. We're different and in actuality we're supposed to be enemies just like Pastel said but that doesn't give me the right to just end you right then and there." he paused, biting his lip before slowly letting go, it was becoming a habit." Gareki, I've forgiven you for every little thing you did to make me angry. That's what I've been taught at a very young age. That's why I help you constantly. I just have a good nature."

Gareki stared at him, his jaw fixing itself as the muscles on his face moved slightly. He inhaled through his nose before sighing through it as well. He nodded." Well said." he shrugged," but I should be saying sorry to you. I haven't been the best person ever since we started this whole journey. So. . .I'm sorry for everything I did and said. But I'm not like you I'm far from it and I definitely haven't been taught the things you have but you've taught me a couple of things so . . .thanks for that, I'll keep them in mind." his lips quirked into a crooked smile.

It was obvious he hadn't smiled in a long long time but Yogi was both glad and dumbfounded to see it on his face. At first he thought he had been mistaken but he saw that it was really there. He wasn't sure how to react at seeing it and not to mention him saying sorry for everything. He was completely shocked. But his surprise died down as he smiled back. He felt like weights had been lifted from his shoulders. Both of them weren't going to be acquaintances but maybe friends now and he was completely relieved.

He couldn't help but wonder why Gareki had the sudden change in attitude. But he supposed it was because of everything he had told him on how to treat people considering he was a prince. It was finally sinking in.

Suddenly the remembrance of getting Gareki's soul back returned to his mind. He hated to break the good mood but he needed to tell him this or else they'd never figure out a way to get it back."I should tell you something and you may or may not like it." he said hesitantly.

Gareki's smile disappeared returning into a thin line. "Don't tell me that you agreed on something else Pastel told you?"

He shook his head." No, it's something more important." he looked down at his hands as he explained what happened earlier in his realistic vision, meeting Eden and how she wanted Gareki to pass over to Heaven if his soul wasn't fully restored to him in the next three days. He also told him it was the only deal that he could agree on to keep him alive a bit longer.

After he was done explaining it was silent. He looked up at Gareki to see his reaction. But his face was completely blank, hiding the emotion he felt once again but he couldn't hide it completely. Yogi looked into his eyes and saw the fear and surprise. He was able to read any ones emotions just by a look in their eyes. But Gareki was just now showing them.

"Gareki, it'll be fine." he said reassuringly. He shook his head still with fear in his eyes." Nothing is fine about this." his voice was low and deep.

"We still have time. We can think of something now and figure it out."

"That won't help. . . " he paused looking at the ground in front of him." There isn't any way to get my soul restored. What Karoku did. . .it's permanent." his voice turned into a whisper. Yogi stared at him before coming up close resting a hand on his shoulder causing Gareki to move his eyes up to his.

"I couldn't be, I know that there's a way to get it back."

Gareki continued to look at him. The fear still evident. Just by looking at him Yogi realized he feared dying. He would have never guessed that from a person like him but it was understandable. It was a scary thought when he considered it.

"Gareki." he said softly, thinking of the next words to say but when he was about to open his mouth he felt a chilling sensation slowly beginning to freeze the air around them. His hand that was placed on Gareki's shoulder immediately got colder from just the touch he had on him but he didn't pull away. He stayed there looking into his eyes as a thin layer of ice began to form itself on the tree he was leaning on. It started to grow against the ground from where Gareki was sitting. Freezing the grass around him as the ice gradually moved over to where he was sitting.

Yogi creased his eyebrows together slightly in confusion as he looked down at Gareki's hands that were clenched tightly a hard look on his face as he continued to stare at Yogi. Wasn't his magic supposed to be weak, how was this happening?

Yogi looked back into his eyes seeing Gareki's jaw clenched as everything continued to freeze over. The air grew colder by the seconds ticking by. Yogi shook his head. "What are you doing?" he moved away from the ice that was coming closer to him.

"This isn't caused by my magic it's happening because I'm scared." Gareki said his voice breaking half way through his words." I'll admit it, I'm afraid to die."

"I figured as much." Yogi replied, surprised that he admitted it." but you won't die, like I said before we still have time to figure everything out. Just like all those times I've saved your life I'm not going to let you die this time either. So just calm down."

Gareki looked down at his hands. He unclenched them as he closed his eyes and focused. Yogi could feel his shoulder relax beneath his palm as he calmed his nerves. The air around them slowly returned to it's slightly cold temperature and the ice melted away revealing the green grass once more. Gareki sighed as he reopened his eyes." Okay. . .what do you expect we do?"

Yogi thought about it." Well. . ."

"You lost half your soul and now you're looking for a way to restore it before you die in the next three days?" spoke Pastel, once again interrupting the conversation out of no where. Both of them turned to look at the cat as he came into view. He was sitting near the fire, his green eyes twinkling from the light hitting against them. He looked as if he had just been sitting there for the longest of moments.

"How long have you been sitting there?" Yogi asked.

"Long enough to hear your dilemma." he stood up and walked over to them." You two are lucky that you have a cat such as myself that can solve such a problem."

Gareki felt his heart skip a beat hearing this." Are you saying you can help me?" he crossed his arm over his chest. Pastel smiled." I'm saying that I know someone that can help you. Of course it won't be easy getting to him since he lives in this very maze. But if you do wish to see him then I will gladly take you to him."

Gareki knew it wasn't going to be easy, hardly anything was in the Arcial Realm." Does he have any catches like queen Eva does? We're already wasting our time to take you back home I don't want to be owing anyone any more favors."

Pastel squinted at him feeling offended by his words. "With all do respect this is to save your life, I would have expected you to give up two of your fangs at the chance to get your soul back." he rebuked with a flick of his tail. "At least that's what I would do if I were in your situation."

Gareki glared at him." Well your wrong. My fangs are off limits, they only suck blood and that would also be the blood of a cat."

Pastel growled at him. Yogi quickly got between them before a fight started." Sorry about his behavior Pastel, he's just like that but please can you take us to this person that could help get Gareki's soul back."

Pastel glared at Gareki before moving his slit green eyes to Yogi's." Fine," he spat." Just as long as your friend there keeps his mouth shut about sucking my blood."

"Trust me the only blood he'll be sucking is mine, he won't lay a finger on you."

"Humph, see to it that he doesn't." he turned and jumped up onto a branch of the tree Gareki was leaning on." We leave tomorrow morning so get yourselves some sleep."

"Wait," Yogi said. Pastel paused before turning to look down at him. " What's the name of the person?"

"His name is Jiki, he's a warlock." with that said Pastel jumped up disappearing in the glowing leaves on the tree.


	25. Feelings

**Music Choice—Ariana Grande—Into You**

 **I'm So Into You I Can Barely Breathe**

 **And All I Wanna Do Is To Fall In Deep**

 **But Close Ain't Close Enough 'Til We**

 **Cross The Line**

 **REVIEW/ FAVORITE—Thanks**

* * *

"There he goes." Yogi said. He turned towards Gareki." Did you really have to say that to him?"

Gareki looked at him." Yes," he stated flatly." I never liked cats."

Yogi crossed his arms, lifting an eyebrow." Well, that's kind of funny since you sort of resemble one." he smiled. Gareki glared at him before rolling his eyes." How ridiculous, no I don't."

"You do."

Gareki rested a hand on his hip placing his weight on one leg." How do I possibly resemble a damn cat?" he eyed Yogi wearily.

"Well, you have slits for pupils, you have cat like movements, and don't get me started about your tail." Gareki crossed his arms over his chest." I get it, you proved your point." He pushed himself down until he was laying on his back again." I'm going to sleep, I'm tired." he closed his eyes moving his arm so the back of his wrist and hand were covering his eyes.

Yogi stared at him still with a smile on his lips before moving over to the fire. He laid himself down on the soft grass staring into the flames cracking in front of him. The heat waves creating warm goose bumps against his skin. He was suddenly brought to the memories of his sisters running through the court yard of flowers as they played while at younger ages. They would pick flowers and make crowns out of them wishing to be the greatest princesses ever born in the Sun Kingdom.

He remembered their smiles and laughter and how their eyes would sparkle every time it crossed their faces. He enjoyed the memorable moments playing around with them when he was younger, every moment was a blessing. He couldn't help but feel utterly powerless for letting them be taken away from him so easily. He hadn't done anything a true king or prince would've done in a situation like that. And that had been to simply protect the people he cared for. And there he was on that night having the audacity to think nothing bad would happen that night of his coronation. What a stupid thought to think.

He closed his eyes remembering the darkness and the betrayal as the guards were taken over by Vileus's dark magic; doing his evil bidding. He thought of his and his sister's footsteps as they ran down the hall of the castle heading strait for the safety room, but how had the darkness come so quickly that everything became a disaster? He hadn't stopped anything that had occurred that night.

He opened his eyes staring at the fire. He felt a strong feeling of discouragement take over him as he thought further about his failures. But then he thought about everything he had done to get this far and everything he had told himself, motivating himself to keep moving forward thinking of a great outcome once he got back home. He even believed his sisters were alive and he would save them, so why think differently now?

The discouragement withdrew itself within him and he felt confident again. He wasn't going to allow any more bad thoughts into his mind. He would make it back home and save everything like he should have done the first time.

He shifted onto his back, staring way up at the glowing sealing of the cave. Like he had said about nearly every place he had gone to in the Arcial realm this cave was beautiful. The only place that didn't deserve a word like that was Laisra that place had been a nightmare.

But Lim Fay didn't look so bad from down here. Gareki and himself had clearly been too distracted by falling to their deaths to see a world and kingdom was actually existing down here. But who would have thought a place such as this would even exist in an under grounds cave it

He would need to ask Gareki if he could get a look at the map Gabriel gave to him, he was curious about other places they would be going to. Closing his eyes again he slowly went to sleep, dreaming about being back home.

The next time he opened his eyes he saw a bright light shining down on him from the hole high above him. He blinked a few times getting the blurriness out of his eyes as he turned his head slowly to look up. The sun light came through from the holes in the sealing of the cave. The bright light was shining down on him in a circle.

He looked at the walls of the large cave around them and noticed they weren't glowing anymore as well as the grass and trees. It was morning already? That was surprising it felt like he had just gone to sleep. But he was glad to see the sun again.

He lifted a hand towards his hair pushing the curls out of his eyes. Lifting himself up from the ground in a sitting position he looked around curiously. The fire had died out leaving a burnt spot on the grass. And Gareki was still sleeping but there was no sign of Pastel which sort of wasn't a surprise since he always disappeared and reappeared at random moments.

He made a note to himself to make sure and ask him if he knew of any lakes or waterfalls in this place considering he needed to clean himself. The last time he had a good washing was when he was back home and that had been a few days ago. Moving his eyes over to where Gareki was sleeping he saw that he had shifted in his sleep and was now facing him laying on his side, his lips parted slightly as he breathed steadily.

Yogi took a second to study him. His eyes roaming over his face and body. The way his eyelashes appeared longer when his eyes were closed. How his stomach lifted when he breathed. How his black hair fell over his eyes. How his pale skin brightened slightly from the light of the sun near him. He was truly a great sight to look at. And Yogi couldn't help feel his heart soar as he continued to stare at him. He admitted it he couldn't hold back his feelings even if he tried.

He knew he was making a big mistake but he couldn't help it. He was practically falling in love with this Avatar. A small smile found it's way on his lips as he shook his head. He lifted himself to his feet and walked over to him before kneeling down in front of him. He grabbed the bowl of sludge and placed it by his knee before lifting his hands towards Gareki's shirt. He was only able to lift it up an inch before he suddenly found himself shoved to the ground hard with Gareki's forearm pressing down on his neck while in his other hand he was holding his glaive. The blade was placed above his face and Gareki was about to strike him but he abruptly stopped himself.

His blue-grey slit eyes studied Yogi's wide and surprised violate ones before he removed his arm from his neck and lifted his glaive away from him. He sighed before glaring down at him." You shouldn't touch people in their sleep, I almost stabbed you in the face."

Yogi laughed nervously as Gareki was on top of him." Sorry. . . I didn't know you had your guard up." Gareki rolled his eyes before lifting himself to his feet and stepped over him. The tip of his tail slapping Yogi in the nose as he did. Yogi pushed himself up, rubbing his nose. He watched as Gareki made his weapon disappear before turning his head back to look at him.

"What were you doing, anyway?" Yogi picked up the bowl gesturing his hand at it." Adding medicine." he answered.

"Oh." was all Gareki said before walking back over to him and allowed him to reapply medicine to his wound. "How does it look?"

"Better then what it was before, but it's still gaping a little." Yogi replied.

"It should go away."

"Yeah," Yogi said slowly as he dragged two of his fingers lightly across Gareki's wound all the way from start to finish." Okay, done." Gareki dropped his shirt. He looked up at the tree where Pastel was supposed to be but he didn't see any sign of him." Where's that damn cat?"

" _That damn cat_ has a name you know," said Pastel out of no where. He jumped down from the tree with levitating fruit floating behind him." I found us a route we can take to get to Jiki's cave and I also brought you two some fruit."

"That's great, thank you," Yogi said." But I need to ask you something. Is there any waterfalls down here or lakes?"

Pastel walked over and sat down the assortment of fruits before looking back up at Yogi. "This cave may be underground but I'm sure I know a waterfall around here, I can show you after you finish eating." Pastel offered.

"Okay." he agreed. He crouched down and picked up what resembled a mango but he knew it was far from it considering it's dark red with a purplish color and hour glass shape." Uh, is this safe for me to eat considering I'm not from this realm?"

Pastel looked at the fruit he was holding." It should be, it's only fruit. I've even eaten it."

Yogi eyed it cautiously before slowly taking a bite out of it. It was over all really sweat and a bit too juicy. But it was good." he looked over to Gareki who was eyeing the fruit with disgust." Aren't you going to eat anything?"

He crossed his arms, still giving the fruit a stink eye." I'd rather not, I'm more of a meat and blood sucker eater."

Yogi picked up a small ball shaped fruit and held it out to Gareki." You might like it." Gareki looked at the fruit, he sighed and grabbed it. Yogi watched him as he gave the fruit that same cautious stare he had given his own. He slowly lifted it to his lips and took a bite out of it. A cringe immediately over came his face as he turned away and spat it out.

Yogi chuckled." I guess you didn't like it?"

Gareki gave him a glare." No! ugh." he cringed again as his jaw set tightly. It looked as if he had eaten something sour and it only made Yogi laugh further.

" Stop laughing, it isn't funny." Gareki wiped his mouth with the back of his hand." Oh I think it is quite funny." Pastel pointed out as he laughed as well.

"I didn't ask you." he retorted as he sat down on the ground cross legged.

"Calm down, don't get your tail in a twist. I was only joking anyway I'm sure your blonde friend here will allow you to drink his blood and not mine."

"You can drink mine once I'm done eating. I at least have to save myself some strength." Yogi said, taking another bite out of his fruit. Gareki shrugged." Fine by me, just as long as you _**never**_ let me eat that shit again."

After they were all done eating they left the camp and began following Pastel to the water fall he had mentioned before." Remember to step exactly where I step." he would say time after time. Gareki had to admit it was getting on his nerves. He appreciated that the cat was showing them the way but did he really have to say the same rule over and over again?

Yogi looked up at one of the holes in the sealing. They were all over the sealing of the cave with sand streaming in that sparkled against the rays of sunlight peaking in. He lifted a hand up to block the sun from getting into his eyes as he examined the sand falling in. "Pastel, we're underground correct?"

The cat turned to look at him." Yes we are. Why?"

Yogi didn't answer he thought about the tunnel Gareki and himself had been running through before they fell. He had been confused at first but now he realized that the land slide had led them underground and now they were under the desert they were supposed to be above by now. But he wasn't positively sure yet so he decided to ask Pastel this.

"So all this sand that's coming in means we're under Dampis Desert right now aren't we?"

"My, I thought you figured that out already," Pastel said, slightly surprised," Yes we are underground but we are also underneath Dampis Desert so you are correct."

"Interesting," Yogi muttered. He turned towards Gareki remembering the question he had wanted to ask him." Are you going to be okay once we get into the desert."

Gareki glanced at him from the corner of his eye before looking ahead again." I'm not sure. I haven't been in a desert before. But since I'm made to be in cold temperatures then I can already tell I'm not going to be okay."Yogi gave him a worried look. Gareki looked at him again noticing the look he had on his face." You don't need to worry about me though. It isn't your problem—

"Of course it is." he interjected passionately.

"Well it shouldn't be."

"I want it to be."

"Again, it shouldn't be. You're just going to have to leave it as it is. You can't always help me. I'll figure out something to keep myself cold enough. And besides, I'm getting my soul back so my magic will come back to me. like Pastel said, I'll just have to focus it so it'll be around me like a barrier."

"Okay," Yogi said slowly, still a bit unsure as he looked down at the ground. Gareki continued to stare at him. He hit him against his shoulder before facing forward again." I'll be fine."

Yogi grabbed his shoulder rubbing it as he felt the pain from Gareki's hit." We'll see." he looked down again only to see Pastel staring at them both. A knowing look in his eyes as he smiled mischievously ." How long have you two known each other?"

"Not for very long, four days at most."Gareki answered.

Pastel hummed deeply." You two are awfully chummy with each other for enemies."

"The opposite of chummy actually." Yogi corrected," We argued a lot so we weren't just like this when we met."

"Oh?" Pastel said wanting him to continue.

"Yeah, both of us when we met couldn't really be near each other. It was bad. . . kind of."

"How did you two act when you first met?" the cat asked. Yogi opened his mouth to answer but Gareki interrupted." Why all the questions all of a sudden?"

"I just want to get to know you two since we are going to be traveling together for the next few days. Now, you answer the question."

Gareki squinted his eyes at him before sighing." Fine If you really must know then I wanted to kill him— instantly," he said nonchalantly." He was an Outsider in the wrong territory my instincts told me that but he was bleeding so I left him for dead instead. But as you can see him standing here now that didn't really go as planned."

Yogi laughed nervously at Gareki's harsh way of explaining his part of the story. Pastel nodded slowly Before looking at Yogi. "Your turn."

He stopped laughing as he explain."Well, apon first appearances I was caught off guard to see Gareki. I mean you know I'm not from here so seeing him with a blue tail just made me feel. . . surprised along with the rest of his appearance."

"Is that the only thing you were feeling?" Pastel smiled cockily. Gareki lifted an eyebrow in confusion before eyeing Yogi side ways. "I was feeling angry that he had killed a troll that was once a person apart of my kingdom, what else would I be feeling?" Yogi asked confused

"I'm a cat but I since emotions just like anyone would so you can't say you weren't feeling something else when you met him." Pastel smiled. Yogi felt his heart pick up speed in his chest as he realized Pastel had figured him out so easily and now he was going to reveal It to Gareki.

Gareki continued to eye him from the corner of his eyes. "What's he talking about?" he asked slowly in a cautious voice crossing his arms over his chest

"Oh it should be so obvious, your blonde friend here has feel—

"Waterfall!" Yogi yelled pointing quickly towards the large cliff of falling water. There was a tall rocky hill they would need to climb on top of in order to get in the water which meant they would have no other choice but to cliff dive. Both Pastel and Gareki gave him strange looks for suddenly yelling but Yogi was too panicked to calm himself down. "There it is! Let's go!" he moved ahead of them quickly as if nothing had just happened." There isn't any traps up here right?"

Pastel slowly shook his head as he continued to eye him strangely." No."

"Good then let's go. I'm looking forward to this." he continued to walk ahead.

Both Pastel and Gareki gave each other looks before following Yogi up the hill.


	26. The Fall Of Dreams

"Ohh I'm not looking forward to this." Yogi said as he looked over the edge of the tall hill. He saw how high up they were. They had already climbed half way up and he held himself back from looking over the edge but his curiosity got the better of him.

Pastel chuckled." Changing your mind already even though you were the one who wanted to head on up before us all ecstatic?"

"Haha, funny but I'm serious. I hadn't thought it'd be this high." he stepped away from the edge as he continued up the steep rocky hill.

"Well you might as well suck up your fear considering we're going to be jumping in the water from a height like this," Gareki said plainly as he too looked over the edge but without any fear looking at the long way down.

Yogi turned his head to him." You sound like you're not afraid."

"Maybe because I'm not." he looked at him as well. "You're thinking right now that once you fall from this cliff that you're going to get hurt, the key is not to think thoughts like that because technically that's making you scared."

He nodded slowly." True, but I wasn't really thinking anything bad would happen until I looked over the edge."

Gareki shrugged." Then maybe you shouldn't of done that." he passed him walking ahead now. Yogi looked away from the edge as they continued to climb. He looked out over the entire maze and all he could say was that it was huge. Turn after turn of stone walls leading to either dead ends or to some other part of the maze and at the very other side of the cave stood a tall castle. It's grey bricks matching the stone walls of the maze itself.

A bridge over a moat lead to the giant doors that were the entrance of the castle. That was all he could make out from his point on the tall hill. The castle looked like a small house from how far away it was but he knew it was bigger than what it looked. He stopped walking.

"So is that supposed to be queen Eva's castle?" he asked still staring at it. Both Gareki and Pastel stopped walking as well and turned to look at the castle." Yes, that would be it." Pastel replied.

"It doesn't look like much. I expected it to be more coated in jewels." Yogi said, looking down at Pastel.

"Why would you think that?" Gareki asked.

"Because, Pastel told me she has her own jewels and treasure, that's why this whole maze is here, It's built to stop Outsiders from getting to it."

"That explains a lot." he turned to look down at Pastel." So since you've been in this underground cave longer than us do you even know Eva personally?"

"I know what I need to know about her. What, are you afraid she'll kick you out of her castle apon the first sight of you?" Pastel replied jokingly but Gareki wasn't laughing, instead he just gave him a frown. "Wow you really don't take jokes, do you?"

"No." his voice was serious as he stepped away from him, continuing up the hill. Pastel sighed looking up at Yogi." I really don't understand how a person like you can stand being near an Avatar. They're so against the world always pulling into themselves not letting anyone in."

Yogi watched Gareki's back as he continued to walk away from them." You're wrong," he said softly." He's. . .changing. He was definitely way more harsh the first time we met but now he's a little compassionate and open."

Pastel flicked his tail watching Yogi with a curious stare." So you've noticed that from him?" he asked, sounding as if he didn't believe him.

He nodded." Of course I have. I couldn't miss it. He's a little different now especially from the way he acted when we first started this whole journey. Like he said before, he wanted to kill me and most of the trip we took to get here he acted as if he hated me. But suddenly he's just changed ever since we left Laisra"

"Maybe that nightmarish place knocked some sense into him, changing him into a better person." Pastel grumbled. Yogi thought about that. Maybe that forest had done something to make him care. It was possible. He had seen Gareki having a panic attack from fear taking over.

Pastel eyed Yogi."So you have feelings for the Avatarian don't you?"

Yogi stopped his thoughts and quickly looked at the cat but suddenly he felt a coldness being brought to his face. He subconsciously looked over to Gareki noticing he was looking at him; his body was slightly turned to them as if he were waiting for them." Um. . .w-we should go." Yogi fumbled as he stood up slowly from his crouched position and began walking over to Gareki.

Pastel got up from his sitting position and followed the prince." So that's a yes, either way I would know so it doesn't matter if you ignore the question." he smiled

"Then why are you asking?" his eyebrows creased into a disapproving frown.

"Because it's funny seeing you work up a nervous sweat." Pastel chuckled." I almost laughed when you suddenly yelled waterfall when I was about to reveal your little secret to your Avatar friend."

Yogi pursed his lips as he mentioned that." Did you tell him," he asked a bit too quickly.

Pastel looked up at him." Yes."

Yogi nearly had a heart attack right then and there." Why would you do that—

Pastel broke out laughing again but harder this time." Priceless joke," he said between fits of laughter. Yogi stared at him a bit confused but mostly angry. How could he do something like that all for the amusement of himself. He hadn't wanted Gareki to know his true feelings yet, and now things were going to be awkward between them just when things were starting to get better.

"You shouldn't be laughing," he chided, crossing his arms glaring down at the cat.

"And you shouldn't be angry, it was only a joke, of course I didn't tell him that." Pastel declared.

Yogi stared at him In surprise. "Are you telling me the truth?"

"Course I am. I'm sure your Avatar friend wouldn't be acting as normal right now hearing news like that. He would definitely be acting differently."

Yogi turned his eyes towards Gareki who was still standing there waiting for them. He was right. When he would gain the courage to tell him the truth of how he really felt he would expect Gareki to act more surprised about it and distance himself from him if he wasn't looking forward to being in a relationship but he also wasn't showing any signs of wanting to be in one either so Pastel really hadn't told him.

Yogi felt relief wash over him immediately." Thank God." he breathed.

"But he still might be curious as to what I was about to say before you cut me off."

"Well don't tell him nothing at all. This is a secret." Yogi said seriously.

"okay, okay. I won't say anything else but still you have to reveal it at some point. It's not good to keep what you're feeling inside of you."

". . .Yeah I. . .I know that," he agreed as he thought about it. They finally made it over to Gareki. He sighed." It's about time you two got here." he turned and pointed up ahead of them." We made it to the cliff and I already checked how we're going to get back up and all I have to say is that I hope you can climb, Yogi."

He nodded confirming that he could."But is that really the only way we can get back up?"

"Yes."

Yogi walked passed him until he reached the very edge of the cliff looking down examining the rocky edges that had vines attached to the surface before stepping back." I'm not so sure about that."

Gareki lifted an eyebrow questionably. "What, you got a better idea?"

Yogi looked down at his sword thoughtfully." I might as well have one." he smiled looking back at Gareki. Gareki looked at him expectedly." What do you expect we do then?"

Yogi shrugged." Well instead of climbing how about I'll use my magic?"

Gareki still gave him a questioning look." Um, you have magic over sunlight how is that going to help?"

"I don't just have magic over sunlight, I can also control vines." he stated." And I could use them to lift us up."

"Smart, we'll do that but lets just get in the water, we're wasting daylight and you know daylight hours don't last long." he lifted his hands and began unbuttoning his shirt from the top. Yogi stared at him before realizing what he was doing and turned away having a small redness to his cheeks." You're. . . doing that here?"

"Um, where else would I strip? Not in the water or else my clothes will get all wet. You really haven't done this before have you?"

"No." Yogi replied slowly." I'm not used to providing for myself in a wilderness." he kept his back turned as Gareki took his shirt off and started to unzip his pants before kneeling down to his boots untying them."I can tell." he muttered under his breath.

Pastel walked over to Yogi." Start taking off your clothes, you don't want them to get wet when you jump in the water do you?"

Yogi sighed as he lifted his hands and began unbuttoning his shirt. He guessed this was a first time for anything considering he had never really taken his clothes off in front of males before. Usually the castle maids would do it and they were all women. He inhaled as he felt the white button up fall off his strong shoulders and he could feel the cold air hit against his slightly tanned skin as he revealed his toned stomach and chest. He then untied both of his boots and took them off leaving them to the side with his shirt.

He placed his hands on the hem of his pants and began pushing them down after he calmed his nerves. He stepped out of them being almost completely naked but left his boxers on. He honestly felt weird doing this but then again it was a since of freedom that lifted inside of him saying that he didn't really care about almost being naked. He sighed again before turning slightly to look at Gareki. Once again he saw the black tribal tattoos on his chest that lead to his shoulders then ended down to his elbows.

The pentagon was in full view now as well as his wound that appeared more healed then the last time he had seen it. Gareki was too distracted with his wound to notice Yogi was looking at him. He took a quick curious look downwards and saw he was wearing black boxers that were slightly tighter. Gareki moved his head upwards just as Yogi turned around acting as if he were looking at the view of the water fall in front of them.

At the very bottom of the waterfall it was covered in a mist making it hard to see below but Yogi caught small glimpses of clear blue water below.

"You ready?" Gareki asked coming up next to him with his arms crossed over his chest.

Yogi felt the adrenaline of excitement run through his veins just at thought of falling from a height like this. Could he really do this?

"Remember, don't think to be afraid and before I forget, hold your breath before you fall because once you jump the fall is going to end really quickly." Gareki advised placing a hand on his shoulder before dropping it away as he stepped back a few feet away from the cliff." Just watch me."

Yogi turned and watched him as he positioned himself like he was going to run but he realized that he was about to run. Gareki placed his hands on the ground as he stared strait ahead at the waterfall in front of him. He inhaled a breath holding it inside his lungs before running forward a serious look on his face as he gained speed before reaching the edge of the cliff where he jumped off placing both of his arms out and his legs straightly pressed against each other. His body forming a T as he fell down head going first.

Yogi gasped as he looked over the edge only making it in time to see Gareki disappear into the mist before hearing a small splash. He couldn't hear it clearly since the waterfall was loud up close.

"By all means he probably died." Pastel said in a low voice but Yogi still heard him. He gave him another frown before looking over the edge again wondering if Gareki was okay.

"If you're worried about him then you should be heading down there as well." Pastel offered." There is a chance he isn't hurt."

"What if he is?" Yogi questioned, backing away from the edge.

"That should be all the more reason for you to head down there."

"Right." he agreed as he backed away even more from the edge. He remembered how Gareki jumped off the edge and he copied his example and before he knew it he was feeling that same feeling of strong wind hitting against his face as if he were falling to his death once more. He felt the pressure of his breath being held in his chest and Gareki was right to tell him to hold it because the water was right in front of him now. He abruptly shut his eyes tightly as he felt his body break through the water's surface.

He felt even more pressure now. It was pressing against his nose and ears as he sunk under the surface of the water still holding his breath but a few air bubbles escaped his mouth making a bit of water enter. He opened his eyes before swimming up to the surface. He threw his head back to remove his wet hair from his eyes as he gasped for air. He lifted up a hand dragged it down his face to get the extra water out of his eyes and nose. The water was cold but at least it was clean.

He looked around for Gareki but didn't see any sign of him until he heard a loud splash behind him. He turned around only to be hit by a wave of water. Once again wiping the water from his face as he looked at Gareki who had hit him with the wave to get his attention." So you made it? Good job, for a second I thought you were going to chicken out."

"I probably would've but I actually thought you had gotten hurt." Gareki looked under the water before looking back at Yogi." There aren't any bug rocks in the water so I'm fine. Thanks for the concern though."

Yogi nodded a you're welcome before looking up at the long drop that he had surprisingly taken." It looks like a long drop doesn't it?" Gareki asked as he pushed his black hair away from his face.

"Definitely, It's surprising I didn't die from that."

" Welcome to my world where you have to do shit like this often just to get yourself cleaned."

"No wonder you looked like an expert doing it." Yogi pointed out." But it suits your character."

Gareki lifted his hand out of the water and gestured towards the waterfall." It'll be better to clean ourselves over there considering water is raining down." Yogi followed him over to the waterfall but suddenly Gareki turned to him moving his mouth like he was saying something but Yogi didn't hear it since they were close to the waterfall." What did you say," he asked, making his voice loud.

Gareki leaned into him a few inches keeping them apart. He opened his mouth to repeat what he had said but Yogi felt an odd impulse take over him as he leaned forward diminishing the inches between them as he pressed his lips against Gareki's.

Gareki's abruptly stopped talking as he stood there frozen for a second. his eyes wide open in surprise."What are you—

He tried to pull away but then he felt Yogi's hand ghost up his shoulder before placing itself behind his head pushing him forward into the kiss with a strong hold. He felt his tongue slide against his bottom lip before making contact with his own. Gareki muffled out incoherent words as Yogi kissed him.

He moved his hands up and pushed against Yogi's shoulders finally getting him away as he tried to catch his breath." What. . .the hell?" he breathed, he stared at Yogi as if he were crazy." What did you. . .why did you?!" he fumbled with his words not knowing what to say.

Yogi leered at him as a smile crossed his face." You don't have to be confused anymore." he advance towards him. Gareki eyed him cautiously. "What are you talking about?"

Suddenly arms wrapped around him from behind as a chest strong naked chest pressed itself against his back. Gareki was paralyzed as he stared at Yogi in front of him. But who was behind him? He felt the arms that were wrapped from behind move it's hands along his chest and stomach. "What?" he whispered feeling breathless by what was happening.

Yogi's smile turned into a smirk. He leaned into Gareki's ear before whispering." It's two of us."

Gareki looked in the corner of his eye just as the hand that had been touching his chest lifted up and grabbed him by the chin so his head couldn't move but Gareki still saw the outlines of his face and it was the exact same person standing in front of him now.

There really were two Yogi's.


	27. Dream Of Death

**Music Choice—Abandon All Ships— Less Then Love**

 **You Don't Hear My Prayers Do You?**

 **When Will We Be Together?**

 **You Don't Know That I Love You**

 **When will We Be Together?**

* * *

Gareki opened his eyes slowly as he looked up at the glowing blue trees surrounding him. He could see the two moons high up shining light down on his strewn about body as he laid there feeling weak for a moment and confused. He closed his eyes trying to bring his memories to the surface of his mind but nothing came to.

He sighed through his parted lips, licking them to add moisture to the dryness of them. reopening his eyes he picked himself up in a sitting position, examining his surroundings. A forest with over grown vegetation that glowed blue against the darkness appeared familiar to him.

He raked his brain for the name and came up with it. He was sitting in Lumines Forest, but what the hell was he doing here was the question? He inhaled before getting to his feet. He looked down at his attire wondering if he was still in his boxers but he wasn't.

He was wearing that same black sleeveless button up, black jeans, and combat boots. But that was also a thing that needed to be questioned considering he didn't remember putting on his clothes. Something odd was happening, he didn't like it and that further proved his reasons as he realized Yogi neither was the cat with him.

He gave one last look around the forest but saw no signs of them which meant he was alone and confused still. How had he gotten here? Maybe something had teleported him? But that didn't even seem accurate.

But one thing was for sure, he knew that he was close to home. A possibly stupid idea crossed his mind just then and he wasn't sure if he wanted to oppose to it. If he was in the right mind then he would obviously know not to step on the ice castle grounds or else his death would definitely be tonight but he was feeling daring and wanted to make verifications with his mother or at least try. He sighed taking a few steps that was on a familiar long path toward the invisible wall where the ice castle was hidden behind.

He pushed aside vines of hanging leaves as he walked onwards. He walked for a whole 20 minutes feeling as though it had been longer, but he was closer to the castle now. A small rustling sound made his ear twitch as he stopped in his tracks listening closely to the forest all around him. There wasn't any noise which was definitely an important sign. He didn't know how many times he had been in this forest but he definitely knew that meant trouble was near by.

He knew his magic was low and now he was only down to using a couple of spells plus his weapon. He waited quietly and stood still. There was no point in running now since whatever it was had already gotten his scent. His instincts told him that as he could hear it's breathing as if it were right next to him.

He made his glaive appear in his hands holding it out protectively with his guard up. Come out you bastard, I don't have time for this. He thought, locking in on the spot of vegetation where the creature would be coming out from telling by all the noise that was coming behind those bushes.

He heard it's loud footsteps stomp against the ground and he could feel the vibration on the soles of his feet through the materiel of his leather boots. His eyes tightened not blinking, afraid of the chance to miss the creature coming out at any second.

His muscles tensed as he heard the deep growl closer then he had expected it to be. He saw red eyes appear out of the dark shadows of the tall bushes as the growl vibrated against his chest. The creature brought it's big head out warily as it's red eyes glared at Gareki with a snarl on it furry face. A manticore presented itself as it further removed it's body from the bushes revealing a long dark red scorpion tail pointed directly at him.

He tightened his grip on his weapon. It was a Nether Beast, the mythical creatures that protected Lumines forest from trespassers and apparently he was one. Gareki hissed at it baring his fangs, taunting it to attack and it did. It's tail swiftly aimed for him but he jumped backwards out of the way. The manticore came for another hit as it swiped it's tail.

Gareki jumped up missing it completely as he landed on top of it, stabbing the blade of his glaive into it's tail deeply. It roared loudly before whipping it's tail to the left throwing Gareki off.

He rolled against the ground before getting into a crouch with one hand placed on the ground to steady himself as he eyed the Nether Beast with a glower. His fangs still baring themselves so he could look like a threat. His plan worked again as the manticore bought the bait and charged towards him roaring.

Gareki got ready waiting for it to get closer. Once it did he jumped towards it glaive first as he stabbed it into the chest but mistakenly not in it's heart. The Nether beast brought up it's paw and slapped him aside forcing him to let go of his weapon leaving it in it's chest.

He flew back hitting his shoulder hard against a tree before he fell to the ground with a thud. The Nether Beast gave out another angry roar as It advance over to him to see if he was dead or not.

Gareki clenched his jaw tightly at the aching pain going up his bicep as he pushed himself up with his arms. He turned and growled at the manticore his eyes and tattoos glowing a light blue as he focused his magic towards his glaive. He could see a little of the blade part glowing a light blue as well before a thin layer of ice started to grow against the manticores chest from his weapon.

He didn't like it either. He shook himself from side to side trying to get the glaive out of his chest before it froze his heart completely and he succeeded as the weapon went flying into the opposite direction from where Gareki laid on the ground. Gareki watched it fly through the air before it stuck itself into the earth far away from him." That's just great." he muttered sarcastically. He moved his eyes back towards the manticore as it faced him with that same glare in it's eyes. Once again, it advanced slowly towards him sinking it's head low to keep a good eye on him.

Gareki clenched his fist summoning up his magic to his right hand so he could throw a blast at the beast's face. He lifted his right hand just about to do it but suddenly a girl jumped out of the trees, sword first as she struck the Nether Beast in it's side. She pulled on the handle of her sword, landing on her feet against the ground as she dropped her weapon and pulled up her hands forming quick hand symbols for a spell. " Freezing strike," she spoke. Gareki watched as the manticore was zapped with a flurry of sparkling ice darts. It roared once more before fleeing into the forest out of sight. The girl stopped her spell once she was sure he wasn't coming back

He picked himself up turning his eyes to look at the girl who had saved him. She picked up her sword, placing it in it's holster and turned to look at Gareki, apon appearances they both paused in surprise.

"Avia?"

"Gareki?" They asked at the same time. Both stared at each other for a minute before she ran over to him looking at his bleeding shoulder." I can't believe you're still alive after a bleeding wound like that, where's Yogi? Did you already take him to the Realm Gates?"

Gareki held his shoulder not really realizing it had been bleeding until now." No I didn't, and to be completely honest with you I don't know where he is."

She was taken aback by hearing this." How did you lose him?" she pulled out a cloth and dabbed it on his wound, soaking up the blood.

He shook his head." I don't know, I just somehow ended up here again." he confirmed." That's. . .odd." she replied slowly.

"No, what's odd is seeing you in this forest alone and not dead by my mother. I expected her to kill you and Seth because you helped me and Yogi escape."

"Well, after you left she treated us like we were the only loyal servants that worked under her domination over the castle. But that isn't to say we didn't get punished for letting you go. We're still being punished now. Apparently she doesn't want to kill us, luckily."

He nodded." So did Seth tell her what I was actually trying to do when I was helping Yogi?"

She stopped cleaning his wound and looked at him, a stunned look coming over her face. "What?" she whispered.

His eyebrows pushed together confusedly." I asked you if Seth told my mother the true reason why I was helping Yogi?"

Her mouth hung open a little as she was still in surprise." You said his name instead of calling him a human or Outsider, you've bonded with him. . . wow." her grey eyes lit up happily.

He shook his head." We're just getting along not bonding. That's a whole different story but answer my question."

She nodded. "Seth did tell your mother of what you were truly doing but she was in denial. You should have seen her. It looked as if she had been betrayed. She was really upset, in fact she still is." Avia informed as she continued to examine his wound, wiping it with a small cloth.

Sighing he leaned back against the tree thinking of his next course of action. But the idea of going back and proving himself not to be guilty was still a daring plan in his head that he still wanted to do." I'm headed to the castle now." he took a step forward but Avia pushed him back against the tree keeping her hand on his chest.

"No, no, no." she shook her head giving him a serious frown." You can't, you're banished. They'll kill apon seeing you there."

"You can't stop me, Avia." he pushed her hand aside before walking forward.

She gripped his shoulder tightly with one hand. Gareki turned around and looked into her serious slit grey eyes."I can try. Trust me Gareki, you don't know what you're doing. I'm trying to help you." she scolded.

Gareki inhaled before moving his shoulder away from her hand." I may be banished Avia but I still am in charge of you and the people in the castle. Don't think you have the authority to tell me what I can and can't do." his eyes brightened an angry light blue as he stared strait into her eyes that softened apon his harsh words.

She dropped her hand away from his shoulder down to her side and pressed her lips into a thin tight line." Fine. . .but don't say I didn't warn you." she snapped back.

He turned on his heals and went over picking up his glaive from the ground but just as he was about to leave the area he heard Avia's name being called out from behind by a familiar male voice and he heard the sound of running footsteps. He turned his head meeting Seth's icy eyes that had just turned up to meet his.

"What are you doing here, trader?" he asked with a grudge in his voice obviously not liking the fact that his presence was in the area. "Passing by, and you'd better watch your mouth of who you're calling trader." Garked snapped back as he walked through the invisible wall of the hidden barrier around the ice castle.

No sooner had he passed it he felt the frigid air blow against his skin as he breathed it into his lungs, feeling the coldness flow into his nostrils giving him an energizing feeling he even felt most of his magic come back to his body. The bridge and the castle stood right in front of him but just as he took a step forward a strong shove was brought to his back and he flew forward flipping in mid air as he landed on his feet in a crouch, hand placed in front of him on the ground once more to keep him steady. He brought his eyes up to look into Seth's blazing blue ones that lit up brightly with anger.

He had landed a few feet away from him which gave them plenty of distance between one another."You are a trader and you shouldn't to be here!" he his fangs bared into a snarl.

Gareki slowly got to his feet not taking his own glowing blue eyes off of Seth's." You know what I did was right. You know the truth—don't act like you don't!"

Seth walked forward towards him." Oh yeah, I know the truth about what you did but still you are a trader for fighting against your own race and among all else you ran away with that Outsider—you chose who you wanted to be with most!"

Gareki clenched his fist at his side, tightening his one hand around the glaive." You're such an idiot."

Seth paused in his walk towards him and stared at him warily." What did you say to me," he asked dangerously.

"I called you an idiot, anyone in their right minds would. You think what I did was so wrong but he was being pursued by trolls and I was only helping my kingdom before they got here. I was even protecting your selfish ass! I may have fought against my people all for the sake to help an Outsider out of the castle but that's nothing compared to an army of trolls crushing everything in sight to look for him."

Seth studied him up and down with a shake of his head."You were merciless just like the people of the kingdom wanted you to be towards those Outsiders for everything they've done to us. But ever since they all saw you help him everyone turned against you. They all loath you for breaking our customs, they don't care if you did it to protect them. You're the prince so you should obviously know how are customs are important to follow at all times despite what you do."

Gareki felt anger lifting up inside of him." Fine, you turning against me then won't stop me from doing this. He lifted his glaive up, the glowing blue blade facing Seth as he fired ice darts from it. They flew speedily towards him.

Seth saw the attack coming and quickly pulled out his bow and counter attacking the darts with his arrows. But one dart made it over to him and nearly hit him if he hadn't of jumped out of the way.

Gareki gave out a low disappointed growl as he watched Seth land on his feet alive. The platinum haired Avatar laughed off his attack not faking his amusement." Well then, I suppose this is a great place to fight. Right next the castle."

Gareki eyed his surroundings, there was nothing that would get in his way considering it was only a wide open space of hard snow and ice he was standing on." Agreed," he said deeply as he quickly ran forward and within a blink of an eye Seth was right in front of him. He pulled his glaive back and was about to slap him in the face with it but Seth brought up his bow and blocked him from doing so.

Seth pulled up his leg kneeing Gareki in the stomach before shoving him back with his forearm. Gareki fell back catching himself onto his feet with a loss of breath from the hit but he pushed himself forward ready for another attack. He lifted his glaive up making it look as if he were going to hit him from above and Seth fell for it as he quickly tried to block the hit but Gareki sunk down into a crouch, extending leg out before sliding it right under Seth's feet making him trip over and fall to the hard cold ground with a thud.

He stood up from his crouch and held up his glaive striking it down to stab Seth but the platinum haired male rolled out of the way causing Gareki to strike his blade right through the ice. He yanked it out and tried to stab Seth again but he rolled once more making him miss again.

His blade sunk into the ice once more and he pulled on it to yank it out but while he was doing this, Seth lifted his leg up and kicked him in the abdomen sending him falling to his back and sliding against the ice.

His weapon slid away from him at a distance. Gareki groaned with his eyes closed, pushing himself up slowly. He cracked his eyes open only to see Seth above him pointing a sharp end of his arrow right in his face as it was being pulled by the bow ready to strike him in the face.

Gareki glared at it before bringing his angry eyes up to Seth's." Go ahead, shoot me but watch that it won't stop me from kicking your ass."

Seth clenched his jaw, loosening his fingers as he was about to shoot the arrow but Gareki quickly grabbed it and froze it apon contact with his hand. Seth looked surprised and Gareki just smirked." You forgot I have the ability to freeze things." with that said he brought his leg up and kicked the bow and arrow right out of his grasp before pushing himself forward, wrapping his arms around Seth's mid section pushing him down to the ground onto his back.

Gareki on top of him now aimed a punch towards his face but Seth brought his hand up and caught it, pushing against it before it made contact with his jaw. He brought up his other hand and aimed a punch at Gareki's face this time but he caught it and tightly gripped his fingers around his knuckles summoning up his magic and began freezing his fist.

Seth grit his teeth painfully at the sensation as he was forced to let go of Gareki's other hand and grip his own that was freezing over with a layer of ice. Gareki gripped him by the shirt lifting him up before throwing him to the side watching him fly before falling to the ground on his stomach.

He landed close to Gareki's glaive and went crawling for it, ignoring the pain in his hand as it continue to freeze over. Gareki saw him and quickly ran over grabbing his weapon before hitting him in the head with the rod end. His eyes closed as his head dropped onto the ice unconscious from the blow.

"Seth," yelled Avia concern cracking in her voice. She had just ran out of the castle with a group of castle guards behind her all with their swords in their hands as if ready to attack and they were. Avia turned to where he stood and glared right into his eyes. Her own grey eyes blazing with anger before pointing an accusing finger at him." There he is, I don't care what it takes but kill him!"

All the guards ran strait for Gareki passing Avia who stood there glaring at him with intense anger in her eyes that read unforgiving and merciless for what he had done to her brother. Gareki hadn't even seen her go into the castle to get the guards, obviously because he was too busy fighting her brother. Gareki tightened his hold on his glaive as he watched all the guards run his way. He focused his magic into his weapon holding it out in front of him and waited for them to get closer, once they did he began spinning his glaive with his finger tips in a quick circle as a strong, cold wind blew out of it heading strait for them.

The guards all flew back by the strong gush of wind, some of them sliding against the ground before falling into the large crack underneath the bridge, falling to their deaths while others were lucky enough to just fly over the bridge and land on the other side of it. Avia gripped onto the bridge to keep her stance from the strong wind but once it stopped she flung her legs over and jumped off landing on her feet before pulling her sword out.

She slowly walked over to him her face stern as she gripped the handle of her sword tightly."I never thought I'd be doing this, but I warned you to stay away or this would happen. Now you have to except your death."

"Sorry, but I don't think so," he claimed as he looked around seeing the guards getting to their feet. He knew he couldn't stand a chance against all of them, he was out numbered. Avia got closer to him about to attack but he side stepped out of the way and dashed towards the invisible wall ending back up in Lumines Forest continuing to run, deciding to take a different route from his first.

He saw Avia behind him cross through the barrier before yelling," After him, don't let him escape!" there was the sound of loud footsteps stomping behind him. He turned back around to see where he was going as he shoved aside hanging vegetation.

He heard them shoot arrows after him but he ran where trees could block him as he headed in another direction not sure of where he was going but he kept running. He quickened his feet as he heard them turn in the direction he had gone in sounding as if they were gaining on him. They started shooting arrows again.

Some landed in front of him and before he passed them he froze the arrows before lifting them up with a levitating spell and threw them back at the guards who all scrambled to block themselves from the unexpected attack.

He didn't waste time seeing how many he had hit as he kept running. He could feel some of his magic weakening, that only happened because he was no longer near the ice castle where most of his magic would always restore itself.

"Run faster he's getting away." Avia's voice spoke again as she held her sword out. The blade glowed a bright yellow as she summoned up a spell to hit him with, pointing it strait at his back making sure to aim correctly as she shot the blast towards him.

Gareki felt coldness coming up behind him and he turned around just in time to be hit with the blast. His body jolted flying backwards. He landed hard against the ground laying there for a few seconds trying to recover from the blow. He could hear the guards and Avia getting closer to him and he forced himself to get up.

His shoulder began bleeding once more but he ignored it as he continued to run.

Avia jumped up on a tree branch glaring down at him. He was still ahead of them by a couple feet but it didn't matter for what she was about to do now. Sighing she put her sword back into it's holster and pulled her brother's bow and arrow from around her back. She set the arrow in place pulling it back against the thin wire, using one of her spells to freeze the arrow over so apon impact it would turn anything into ice. She steadied her hands and eyed Gareki's back carefully targeting him. And then she let it go.

Gareki panted as he continued running fast. The guards gaining speed behind him. He needed a plan and now was a good time for one, but he couldn't do anything considering his magic was weakening by the seconds ticking by. He needed some where to hide. He looked ahead of himself for any hiding places but almost panicked as he saw a cliff to a wide open waterfall with a long way down that anyone couldn't survive from. He may have been lucky once to fall from a waterfall but a second time wasn't going to be like the first.

He stopped a foot away from the edge and backed up cautiously. Suddenly he heard a wooshing sound. His ear twitched causing him to turn around only to see a flying arrow frozen over heading his way he didn't have time to move. It impaled him in his chest and he immediately felt his body freezing over as he was knocked off balance falling over the cliff. His body being covered in ice as he fell.


	28. The Awakening

**Muisc Choice—Nothing More—Ocean Floor**

 **When did we become these sinking stones?**

 **When did we build this broken home?**

 **Holding each other like ransom notes**

* * *

Gareki jerked awake, breathing in a gasps of air as his eyes quickly moved around the area he was in. His heart thudded against his chest with overwhelming speed making him think he was going to faint but he didn't. He felt the adrenaline coursing through his veins like it had been when he was running away from Avia and the castle guards. His eyes stayed wide open at his new surroundings, as he studied the rocky edges on the walls that resembled a cave.

He wasn't dead.

He stopped moving his eyes around the room as he calmed himself down, realizing he wasn't falling to his death, nor was his body frozen over with ice. He blinked a few times, the images of himself being shot by an ice arrow picturing itself in his vision every time he did the action.

His breathing calmed down into slow pants as he eased his nerves to stop his heart from beating rapidly. He swallowed adding moisture to his dry throat as he slowly continued to looked around himself. Confusion took over panic as he realized where he was.

He was definitely inside a cave and if he was correct it was a cave behind a waterfall, telling by the loud crashes of water hitting against the surface of water he heard echoing from a short distance away. "How did I get here," he croaked out, his throat still feeling dry. He felt a cold draft touch his skin and when he took a look down at himself he notice he was still in his boxers, his body dripping wet told him he had just recently got out of the water, but he didn't recall pulling himself out.

But something else he noticed had him more confused. He was stuck to the cave wall by something slimy and translucent, it was wrapped around his midsection forcing his arms at his sides. It looked like water but he knew it wasn't. It felt different— more like strange. It was cold, sticky, and gooey.

He tried moving his arms but they wouldn't break free from his sides." Not good," he muttered under his breath. Suddenly there was the sound of some one inhaling a breath and then movement.

He slowly looked up only to see Yogi who had just opened his eyes, he had a surprised look on his face once he opened his eyes fully and it turned even more so once he saw his surroundings. He was attached to the sealing by the same sickly stuff that was wrapped around his own body but that wasn't the only thing Gareki noticed as he eyed the sealing. All around Yogi were hanging skeletons from a sticky like sap that glowed a translucent blue. Gareki's eyes widened at how many hanging skulls, bones, and ribs hung from the cave sealing as if it were some kind of decoration.

Yogi blinked down at him in confusion noticing the frozen look in his blue eyes. He too was still in his boxers and had water dripping from his body as well. It was then he realized he was stuck to the sealing and once he turned around to see what Gareki was looking at he nearly had a heart attack as he turned and saw the hanging skull staring strait into his eyes as it hung right next to him. He examined all the hanging bones and skulls surrounding him. "What. . .the. . .hell," he said slowly, in complete shock as he slowly turned to look down at Gareki." Where are we?" he asked warily, not sure if he wanted to know.

"I don't know," Gareki replied breathlessly. "All I remember is waking up from a dream." he recalled before adding," More like a nightmare."

Yogi blushed as he began to recall his own dream. The kiss he had with him felt vividly real but now it was all starting to feel fake, like it hadn't happened. Which know that he woke up he realized that it actually hadn't." I had a dream too, but I don't want to talk about it," he confessed hesitantly. Gareki agreed with him. He too didn't want to talk about or remember his own dream again.

"So how did this happen? Or do you not know that either?" Yogi asked, redirecting the subject at an attempt to not think about what he had done to Gareki in the dream of his. Gareki was silent for a minute as he thought about their sudden situation. Everything up until the point of his jump into the water he could remember completely but after that it was all a blur. . . no actually he didn't even remember going under the surface of the water and that made him realize what was happening and it only made his thoughts more accurate considering they had both dreamed at the same time. It wasn't good either.

"Oh no, Yogi I just realized what happened to us." he said in a voice that sounded troubled.

Yogi eyed him expectedly. "What?"

"The water we jumped into wasn't just regular water. We just jumped into a—

"Pool of dreams." a male voice interrupted. Both of them turned to look at a dark hall of the cave they were in and slowly appeared a human sized slimy lizard that glowed translucent blue just like the sap the bones were sticking from. Gareki could see it's eternal organs but it didn't have any bones. It's slit purple eyes looked towards Gareki as it waltzed over to him on two legs.

As it walked it sounded like something liquid and slimy was being punched into. Gareki watched the lizard as it closed up the distance between them only allowing a little as it stood right in front of his face. Gareki moved his head back from the closeness, feeling the back of his skull press to the cave wall behind him.

"Is that what you were going to say," he asked assertively.

"Yeah," Gareki said slowly, looking at him cautiously up and down examining his slimy wet body.

The lizard grunted. " Well if you two are confused then let me explain." he cleared his throat. You two have trespassed in my water and there for you were given dreams of either what you really want to happen or either don't want to happen. It's called a dream pool for a reason and I don't like people or any creatures swimming in it, considering it belongs to me. And as you can see from my decorative skills I''ve taught those people a lesson who've made the mistake of swimming in what truly is mine." he pointed upwards at the hanging skulls and bones.

"We've noticed," Yogi said, giving the bones around him a frown.

The lizard returned his hand back down to his side. Gareki's eyes tightened as he thought about what the lizard had last said." So you plan to do the exact same thing to us?"

The lizard smiled wickedly. "It's not what I'm going to do, it's about what you are." Gareki's face turned into a glower." What do you mean?" he urged deeply.

The lizard leaned into him until his nose was almost touching his." I'm going to let you sit here until you die of starvation and thirst." he smirked before stepping back." That's the penalty for trespassing." he turned away from them about to head down the dark hall of the cave.

"You're not just going to leave us here!"

He didn't turn around, he kept walking almost disappearing into the darkness of the hallway."We can fight you!" Yogi yelled suddenly. Gareki closed his mouth as he looked up at Yogi, not expecting him to shout out like that. He turned back to the lizard and saw that he had stopped, his back staying turned facing them.

"We can fight you," he repeated, in low voice this time." We have magic."

The lizard turned around looking up at Yogi with a skeptical look on his face." I believe **_you_** have magic." he turned to Gareki." But I know _**he**_ doesn't." he walked over to him, coming up close to his face once again.

Gareki continued to glower at him. "How do you know? You might be wrong."

He laughed." Believe me, I know I'm not wrong. . . You want to know why?"

Gareki stayed quiet for a few seconds before agreeing." Why?"

The lizard smirked again." Because I can sense it, and I sense nothing magical in you." Gareki clenched his jaw opening his mouth about to defend himself but words didn't come out like he had wanted them to as he eyed the slimy tentacles slowly growing out of the lizard's back, one on each side of his back shoulders.

Gareki paused as he continued to stare at them. One slowly slithered over to him and slid itself over his right cheek, leaving a wet slim in it's trail. Gareki and growled at him as he turned his head away from the tentacle but it still cascaded against his skin, slowly moving over his bottom lip before going down to his jaw."Your senses are wrong, I can easily fight you with my magic so don't provoke me." he claimed, shutting his mouth tightly as the tentacle slid against his lips again. The lizard laughed." Trust me, you're weak. You couldn't hurt me even if you tried."

Yogi watched the scene below him. He felt unsettled by the way the lizard was taunting Gareki and by all means he wanted him to stop, it was beginning to irritate him. He could feel his magic around him beginning to heat up by the small anger growing inside of him.

Gareki turned his head looking strait in the lizards purple eyes ignoring the tentacle still on his face." Once I get out of this, you're dead." he threatened, his fangs baring as he clenched his jaw. The tentacle slid down his neck and down to his chest.

"That's _**if**_ you get out of it." he corrected amusedly." You'll die here just like everyone else so quit acting all high and mighty I know what you dreamed of and I know what you fear so don't think I won't use it against you."

They both glared at each other. "I dare you to," he challenged but immediately regretted his words as both the tentacles lifted towards his mouth prying it open wide and before Gareki knew it he felt the lizard slither itself into his mouth and down his throat completely moving his body inside of him until he was all the way inside.

Gareki jerked forward stiffly as his eyes opened wide. He felt like he wanted to throw up as he felt the lizard inside of him slithering around. He breathed steadily through his parted lips in shock as felt his body jerk back forcing the back of his skull against the rocky wall of the cave.

"Gareki?!" Yogi yelled concerned. He was in just as much shock as Gareki was as he saw everything that had just happened. He felt his magic growing. That lizard had crossed the line. . .if he hurt Gareki then he wasn't going to hold back his anger. He watched as Gareki clenched his jaw tightly as a groan erupted from his throat and he sounded like he was in pain as his body jerked back and forth stiffly.

"Get out of me!" he yelled aggressively, his voice echoing all around the cave. His eyes shut tightly as he leaned his head back against the wall. A few seconds passed before his eyes snapped open but they weren't blue slits anymore, they were purple slits. His mouth opened but once he spoke Yogi knew it wasn't Gareki speaking." I've seen all your thoughts and what you feel and it's interesting how an Avatar can change his judge of character over an Outsider." he laughed amusedly.

Yogi labeled the voice as belonging to that lizard he must of done something to take control of Gareki's mind which was unsettling." What did you do to him?!" he yelled.

Gareki moved his body against the slime wrapped around him and broke it easily. He dropped down onto the ground in a crouch a hand in front of him to steady himself. He stood up slowly and lifted his hands up examining them as he clenched them into fists." I have to admit, it feels odd to be in a Avatar's body but I can get used to this."

"You better let him go?!" Yogi snapped. He watched as Gareki looked up at him and smirked wickedly." Oh, I don't think so. I happen to like this body quite well. . .and when I like things I personally don't want to let them go." Yogi glared down at him. The lizard wasn't going to take control over Gareki's body for long, not if he could help it.

Gareki took a step forward still eyeing Yogi with his purple eyes." You'd be surprised Outsider how much this Avatar has found a liking to you. But of course by like he thinks of you as a close comrade, but I wonder if he'll think the same once I kill you with his own hands. This should be amusing."

Yogi froze as Gareki kept taking steps closer to him almost to the spot where he was right below him but suddenly he abruptly stopped and jerked forward grabbing a hold of his head with one hand. He groaned as he took a couple steps back as if frustrated." keep yourself in place Avatar!" the lizard yelled clenching Gareki's head tightly. Suddenly he jerked backwards and hit his back against the wall of the cave, his eyes shut tightly before reopening into blue slits again.

"You better not kill him—!" Gareki's voice yelled, gaining control over his body again but it quickly went back to the control of the lizard as the purple slits came back." As if you could stop me, he's as good as dead anyway." he took a couple steps forward again but abruptly stopped once more as Gareki fought to take control again." No he isn't, I swear. . . if you kill him then you're dead!" his voice struggled to speak.

Yogi watched as Gareki fought with himself and given a closer look into his eyes he could see that one was purple and the other was blue which could only mean they were both in control now. He needed to do something to stop this but he didn't know what. All he could do was watch as they fought.

Gareki clenched his fist bringing it up to his face where the purple eye was taking control over half his body and punched himself falling to the ground in the process." Get the hell out of my body!" his voice growled struggling on the ground as his other hand tried to punch him in the face this time.

"No. You need to be put in your place!" spoke the lizard, bringing his hand up and wrapped his fingers around his neck before electricity zapped around his entire body only hurting Gareki and not himself. Gareki's voice groaned painfully. "Stop it?!" Yogi exclaimed, as he began struggling against his stuck position on the sealing.

The lizard laughed." I'm only making him shut up so he won't interrupt me again." he watched Gareki's body struggle as one of his hands grabbed at his throat trying to get his other hand from clenching it but he failed as the lizard won over the fight of who was in control over his body. His other eye turned into purple once more. The lizard had taken control again.

Yogi watched feeling stunned." Did you kill him?!" he asked angrily.

"No, but he will be soon if I stay in his body any longer." said the lizard Yogi suddenly was overwhelmed with anger. He could feel his hands heat up as they glowed red in his palms. He focused his magic feeling his entire body heat up as a red glow covered him, radiating off of him like mist. His body melted away the slime wrapped around him and he dropped to the ground, landing on his feet.

His stood up strait glaring into the lizard's purple eyes as he began to advance towards him, fists clenched at his sides. Gareki got to his feet standing up strait as well." Well, well look who suddenly got angry." he smiled, his fangs revealing themselves as he did. "What are you going to do, fight me? You'd do that to your own comrade— the person you care for?" he pushed against Yogi's chest with his hand Yogi quickly gripped onto his wrist tightly.

He came up close to his face 2 inches apart before whispering," You're not Gareki which means I can do what ever I want. I know he wouldn't want to die like this so he won't care if I hit him just to get you out of his body. And besides I won't hurt him. . .I'll be hurting you."

His purple eyes squinted down at Yogi's hand that was gripped around his wrist before looking back into his eyes again. So you put a protection spell around your friend so he wouldn't get hurt. . .smart. Really smart but you're weak, you won't hit me. Not when I'm looking like this."

"Is that so?" Yogi asked, giving him a serious look. Gareki nodded." You don't have th—

His words were cut off by a strong punch to the face. His head went flying back but Yogi pulled him by the grip he had on his wrist and flung him to the hard ground letting his wrist go." You're not Gareki!" he yelled grabbing onto his ankle before dragging him on the ground. He brought him up and threw him at the wall. Rocks flew from how hard his back hit against the cave wall. His head fell to his chest as though he had fallen unconscious but Yogi knew he was awake."

Yogi breathed out a slow sigh as he glared at Gareki. His body was still hot with a red glow outlining him." I want you out of his body, **_now_**!" he said firmly.

Gareki 's shoulders shook slightly. Yogi watched him closely. he saw them begin to shack more strongly as he heard a low laugh slowly becoming louder into a hysteric chuckle. He lifted his head, eyes closed as he continued to laugh." Give me a fight like this any day! You have no idea what you're messing with. His eyes opened as he pulled himself from the wall that had been framed his body from the force he had hit it with. Small rocks fell from his back as he walked over to Yogi a smirk on his amused face.

Moving his shoulders in a slow circle he heard them crack. He then lifted his hand up as his glaive appeared in front of him and he grabbed it, spinning it with his fingers tips before lunging towards Yogi. Blade held high at the ready to penetrate his flesh." You're dead!"


	29. The Escape

**Music Choice—My First Story—NEUROSE**

* * *

Yogi side stepped from left to right as the glaive tried to cut into him. His eyes stayed focused on Gareki's movements and once he saw him jump up with the glaive held high above his head, He jumped back standing clear of the sharp blade as it landed in the place he had been a second ago, creating a small crack in the ground from the force Gareki had put into it.

Gareki brought his head up, eyes blazing purple as he bared his fangs angrily.

"You better stay still!" he growled as he quickly darted towards him, glaive pulled back ready to hit cut with it. Yogi ducked backwards coming back up only to be slapped aside by the rod end of the glaive.

He caught himself and turned back only to see that Gareki was heading strait for him. The Avatar jumped up doing a half spin before the back of his foot connected with Yogi's face kicking him aside to the ground.

Yogi landed on his back. He groaned at the pain of the kick given to him before opening his eyes having to quickly bring up his hands to form a barrier around himself from the glaive that was coming towards him to pierce his heart. Gareki's weapon abruptly came to a stop at the barrier blocking his target. He growled angrily at Yogi's quick reflexes.

"I bet you think you're so clever, but you're not because I'm going to win this fight!" he snarled as he lifted up his glaive and slammed the blade down onto the barrier cracking it slightly before doing the same thing over and over again. Yogi quickly rolled away as his barrier finally broke into tiny pieces. The glaive slammed into the ground where he had been a second ago, once again missing his target.

Gareki snapped his head to where he had rolled and quickly advance towards him. He held his hand up at the blonde, his palm glowing a light blue as he summoned a spell." This body has only a little magic but I know this'll be enough to finish you," he seethed.

Yogi got to his feet ready to attack him again, he moved towards him. Gareki smirked before blasting him." Freeze," he yelled as ice formed around Yogi's legs freezing him to the spot. He laughed again as he slowly brought his hand down to his side. He walked over to Yogi raising his glaive in front of his heart ready to stab it through." Like I said before," he whispered looking strait into Yogi's eyes." I'm going to win this fight."

Yogi felt his palms growing warmer as his magic swarmed around his hands." You're wrong. . .you're not going to win." he spoke sternly. Gareki stared into his eyes slowly turning them into a glare. "What makes you believe that?"

"This." he quickly placed his hand into the center of his chest watching as his magic did it's work." I'll say this one more time. . .get out of Gareki's body now! "his chest tensed underneath his hand and he let out a yell of pain, shutting his purple eyes tightly as he felt his magic going through his body.

Yogi inhaled a breath as he closed his eyes saying the spell quickly," Gods from above bestow me your power to vanquish this evil soul inside a good one and kill all the evil he has done to my friend." a bright golden light appeared from his palm and he clenched Gareki's chest slightly allowing his finger nails to impale his skin.

Gareki clenched his jaw, bringing his hands up slowly and grabbed Yogi by the wrist. He tried to pull his hand away from his chest but Yogi pushed his hand closer to his chest so he couldn't remove it. Gareki's voice groaned as he felt the lizard coming up from his throat. Yogi took his hand away watching as he stumbled backwards placing his hands on his knees as he threw up the lizard. Yogi watched it slither out of his throat and splattered onto the floor.

Yogi looked up at Gareki and he could see his blue eyes were back again which meant he was no longer being controlled. He breathed a sigh of relief that he wasn't dead, he had made it in time to save him. He looked down at his hand and saw that the red glow around his body was gone now.

He looked back up and watched as Gareki stood up strait, breathing slow pants as his eyes averted in his direction. He slowly shook his head relief coming over his face. Yogi smiled just as he saw his eyes close and he began to fall forward. He quickly went over to him and caught him in his arms before he fell to the ground.

He looked down at his face as his cheek rested on his chest. He brushed aside strands of his wet hair to see his eyes were closed and he was slowly breathing from his parted lips. _He only fainted_. He thought, assuring himself that he hadn't just died in his arms. He hoisted his body up so he was being held over his shoulder. Yogi glanced at the lizard seeing that it was nothing but a wet glob on the floor. . .dead.

"Serves you right," he said under his breath before turning, going down the dark hallway of the cave. His eyes glowing so he could see. He held Gareki's back tightly so he wouldn't fall from his shoulder, feeling lucky that he had saved him in time. Eventually he made it to the entrance of the cave. He had to pass plenty more skeletons and skulls hanging from above as he made his way through the cave.

All of them having the appearance that they had been in this cave for a long time. He faced the entrance of the cave that showed the water fall raining down. He recalled what the lizard had said to them earlier about the water making them dream. He wondered if he made contact with it just for a second would have the same effect?

He hoped not, they needed to pass and this was the only way out. He looked through the waterfall seeing the vines that were attached to the rocky wall in front of him at a few distances away across the water, but he could reach them with his magic. He took in a breath before holding his other hand out that wasn't holding Gareki. He felt the pulse of the vines as they connected with his magic. He slowly felt a pulling sensation and knew they had allowed him to use his magic on them. He slowly pulled his hand back as the vines snapped lose from the rocky wall before floating over to him passing the water fall in the process.

He dropped his hand down to his side as he placed Gareki on the ground allowing the vines to wrap around his body. He told the vines where they needed to take him as more vines came and wrapped around his own arms and mid section so they could pull him up as well. "Go," he ordered. They pulled Gareki and his body away from the ground and through the waterfall.

Yogi pushed his soaked hair back away from his forehead as he passed through it, and luckily it hadn't made him dream again. He sighed in relief. He was still trying to get over the last dream he had about a certain Avatar he'd found a liking to. But he wasn't going to think that he hated it or loved it. Because it was both, he was still surprised that his mind had dreamed of something like that, he hadn't thought his emotions for Gareki were _**that**_ strong. He shook it off as he focused on more important things and that was to get Gareki awake again so they could continue their walk to Jiki's to get his soul fully restored.

He looked up at one of the holes up in the cave sealing noticing that the sun wasn't as bright anymore." We already wasted half the day," he confirmed in disappointment. They hadn't gotten anywhere and the maze was huge with every direction you took was a trap. Could they really make it to Jiki at this rate?

The thought continued to distract his mind as the vines fully carried them up the cliff they had jumped from. As soon as he raised over the cliff he saw Pastel sitting there his tail swishing." Well it's about time you two got back."

Yogi frowned at him as the vines set them both on the ground before slithering back dow the their rightful places. Pastel looked to Gareki's sleeping form." He's asleep again, hasn't he had enough of it," he asked, a bit playfully. Yogi groaned at his worst times of humor." This isn't funny, Pastel!" he snapped." Gareki almost died down there! Why didn't you tell us that this water was a dream pool?!"

The cat lifted his foot and scratched his ear." Relax the yelling please, I have small ears—

"Just answer my question." he urged, annoyed by his behavior." All right, fine." Pastel said." It just happened to slip my mind at the last minute that you two jumped from this cliff."

"It slipped your mind," he repeated incredulously, crossing his arms over his chest.

Pastel nodded." That is what I just said isn't it?"

Yogi frowned at him before turning and kneeling down to Gareki, placing a hand on his bare shoulder as he examined him to see if he was okay." Well like I said. . .he almost died down there." he looked at Pastel from the corner of his eyes before adding," By some lizard creature that was the owner of this waterfall. He wanted to kill us both for trespassing and if that isn't the worst part about this then look up and notice that half the day is already over and wasted away."

Pastel squinted at him." You sound as if you're blaming this all on me."

Yogi turned his head towards him, his eyes hard with anger. "That's because I am. You didn't tell us about this waterfall and all of what just happened to Gareki and I could have been avoided, Pastel. So yes. . .I **am** blaming this all on you." he turned back to look at Gareki.

". . . Well, if it helps. . . I'm sorry. I'm sure we can still make it to Jiki's cave within the time we still have." Pastel tried to console.

Yogi breathed out a low sigh." I don't know. . .three days go by really quickly and they go by faster in this world."

"We still have a chance," the cat smiled mischievously then. "Or are you just going to give up on your boyfriend there?" Yogi blushed turning his head to face the cat quickly." No I'm not going to give up. . .and he isn't my boyfriend, what is it with you?"

The cat smiled." What ever you say, get yourself dressed so we can get ourselves a move on. I'll watch your Avatar friend."

Yogi reluctantly agreed to leave Gareki's side. Standing up, he walked over to his clothes and started getting himself dressed. After a few minutes he was done getting his clothing and boots on. He folded up the sleeves of his white button up so they would be above his elbows." He's waking up." Pastel informed.

He looked up to see Gareki moving into a sitting position as he placed a hand on his forehead, cringing slightly as if he were in pain—or he was." Ugh, my head," He groaned. Yogi walked over to him." Are you okay?"

Gareki glanced up at him." I'm fine." he dropped his hand away as he eyed his surroundings." We're out of the cave?"

Yogi nodded." That lizard thing is dead, if you didn't know." Gareki raised his hand and squeezed his shoulder as he closed his eyes." Good," he breathed. Yogi kept his eyes on him, watching as he kept a firm hand on his shoulder clenching his fingers over it before letting them lose and then doing the same thing over again.

"How's your body feeling, you know. . .from me beating you up?" his eyebrows furrowed as he mentioned it. Pastel eyed him from the corner of his eyes." You beat him up?"

Yogi didn't answer him , Afraid he would make a dumb joke about that to.

Gareki sighed, opening his eyes to look at him. "Considering you put a protection spell on me, my head only hurts instead of my entire body."

He nodded feeling reassured." Good, you should get dressed now. Half the day has already been wasted." Gareki blinked in realization before turning to glare at Pastel. he too had figured out that Pastel hadn't warned them about the water. He opened his mouth to scold him but the cat spoke before he did." Don't worry your boyfriend here has already given me a good talking to."

Yogi immediately frowned down at him at his choice of the word " boyfriend". Gareki paused giving the cat a strange look for saying such a word. He got to his feet. "I'm just going to get dressed." he stated flatly while still eyeing Pastel strangely before turning away from him as he started to redress himself.

Yogi watched him before turning to look down at the smiling cat. He crouched down a disapproving look on his face." Cut it out!" he whispered. Pastel's smile turned into a smirk." Fine, but you should know that my personality is all about joking around." he whispered back.

"Well can you stop it for now?" he insisted. Pastel thought about it before answering," Why should I?"

"What do you mean why should you? You know just as well as I do that I'm trying to keep what we talked about earlier a secret, so stop joking around." Pastel stared into his eyes amused." You know I enjoy seeing your reactions."

His violate eyes tightened." My reactions aren't for your amusements, so I'm tell you this one more time _ **cut it out**_." his voice was firm.

Pastel inhaled before sighing." Fine. . .but only for now. I need my daily laughs, this trip we're doing wouldn't be amusing If I didn't have a joke with the two of you."

Yogi stood back up sighing exasperated. He turned to Gareki to see how far he had gotten dressed only to see he was tying his boots, fully dressed. He looked up at Yogi before standing up." Lets go."


	30. Lycan Territory

**Music Choice—ONE OK ROCK—Mighty Long Fall**

 **When We Met The Pain Stood Still**

 **It was Us Then Suddenly It's Where You Go**

 **The System Blew, I Knew**

 **This Side Of Me I Want a Little more**

 **Thank you for 1,000 views**

* * *

Gareki looked up at the large holes in the sealing of the cave as he listened to the high pitched laughter belonging to Pastel. He clenched his jaw at the annoying sound." It isn't that funny, damn cat!"

"Oh, it's funny!" he exclaimed as he continued to laugh. They had left the tall hill about an hour ago and were now back on their path to reach Jiki's cave as Pastel had said he lived in. But on there way the cat had asked what had happened to them while they were both in the cave with. Yogi had explained to him the events and now he was in fits of laughter.

"So let me get this strait, you two were taken captive by a water lizard then he takes control of your body Gareki and makes you two fight each other. Oh, I wish I had been there seeing something like that, it would've definitely been amusing to watch instead of sitting up here waiting for you two."

Gareki glared at Yogi for telling him what had happened in the cave. He knew that the damn cat was going to laugh after hearing the entire story and now he wasn't going to shut up about it. Yogi returned Gareki's glare with an apologetic glance before saying a low sorry but the Avatar just shook his head turning his eyes away from him in slight annoyance.

"Whatever, the fact is is that it's over and you can stop laughing now." Gareki stated. He watched the cat walking in front of them turn his eyes to look back at him." Oh, are you embarrassed that you got your ass handed to you by none other then an Outsider?"

Yogi looked at Gareki from the corner of his eye and saw his jaw clench as a low growl erupted from his throat. Gareki opened his mouth to say a remark to defend himself but Yogi interrupted him before he could.

"Tecnically Pastel I wasn't handing his ass to him, I was only helping him. There's a huge difference," he claimed as he crossed his arms over his chest. He felt agitated at the way he had said it.

"Whatever you say but you two were still fighting. It's pretty amusing if you think about it or maybe I'm just saying so because I've never seen an Outsider fight against an Avatar." he eyed Yogi up and down before looking at Gareki and did the same thing before turning away from them to look ahead of himself." You two do look pretty strong, I wonder who would last longer in a fight between you two? Considering that Gareki did come back knocked out I guess you would win Yogi." he stated calmly.

Yogi took another glance at Gareki and saw his eyebrows pushed together as he glared down at the cat." You're really trying to provoke me right now aren't you?" he asked, voice edged with vexation.

Pastel turned to him." I think I already have. You really need to control your anger it could end you up in a bad situation."

"You don't need to be worried about my emotions, I can take care of myself." he stressed.

"Who says that I was worried about you, I could care less if something killed you right now."

"Pastel!" Yogi interrupted in disapproval.

Gareki smirked nodding slowly as he took offense to his words." No, no it's okay Yogi let the little fur ball speak his mind, it'll just be a matter of time before I sink my fangs right into his neck."

Pastel paused and turned to them." What did you just say," he asked slowly. Gareki slowly crouched down in front of him so he could be at eye level." You know what I said and I mean it."

"You need me, so you can't kill me," he claimed, taking a step back. Gareki's smirk went away turning his face serious as his slit eyes stared dead into Pastel's green ones.

" Yeah, I need you alright," he said slowly a bit mesmerized." But just think about it. . . my fangs entering you sucking your blood drop after drop paralyzing you to the spot so can't move away as you get closer and closer to your death. Doesn't that sound amazing." his fangs grew slightly as he spoke. He cracked a smirk at Pastel who was starting to be afraid.

Yogi stared down at him feeling a bit surprised by his words but didn't make any moves to interfere just yet. He was going to wait until Gareki showed any signs he was going to drink Pastel's blood. Pastel's face looked as if he had seen a ghost as his fur stood on end slightly." You won't do that. You speak all high and mighty but you won't do it." he took another step back but Gareki grabbed him tenaciously from the scruff of his neck hoisting him up as he got to his feet holding him further upwards as he dangled in front of his face. His blue eyes glared at him.

"You really don't think I'll do it don't you?" he asked.

Pastel didn't say anything he just held his front legs close to his chest as his body tensed.

"You're afraid of me drinking your blood not the fact that I could sink my teeth into you at any moment." Gareki pulled one side of his mouth up into a one sided grin revealing one of his fangs and Pastel tensed up even further at the sight of it. He dropped it back into a devious smirk.

"How about me and you make a deal, you stop bugging me with your lame jokes and I won't have to drink your blood it's easy to follow?" he said slowly.

"Who do you think you are, blackmailing me to do as you say—

He stopped talking immediately once Gareki's eyes lit up, clearly he was vexed. He tightened his grip on the scruff of his neck." I **will** drink your blood so don't think that I won't. Now. .I'm going to say this one more time, don't provoke me again." he dropped the cat glareing down at him as he scrambled to his feet after he clumsily landed on his side.

"Fine, then." he huffed as he turned on his paws and continued leading them through the maze." You didn't have to be so rough about it."

"I needed to get my point across, since you're stubborn." Gareki defended." Just heed this as a warning and maybe next time I won't be so rough."

Pastel turned his head back to him." What do you mean next time?"

"Next time meaning that I already know you're going to keep joking around with me and if you do then I'm going to do the same thing I just did to you but only I'll be drinking your blood."

His green eyes widened before turning around." No no that won't be necessary, I'll be good."

"Good, then we're even." he said.

All became quiet just then. But Yogi sensed tension in the air between the two and it was strong. He guessed Gareki really didn't like cats. He looked ahead of himself and saw that one of the rays of sunlight shining in was starting to disappear. He looked up and noticed the sun was going down.

"Are we going to continue walking?"

Gareki glanced at him." Why would you ask that?"

He pointed upwards and Gareki looked noticing the sun going down as well. He looked back down." We might as well keep walking, we've wasted a lot of time today and let's not forget my life is on the line."

"I could never forget that." Yogi stated but he regretted it as soon as it passed through his lips as Gareki gave him a strange look and he abruptly stopped walking.

"What was that?" he asked, his brows furrowing in a serious manner as Yogi stopped walking too.

"What I meant to say was—

"No not you," Gareki said, he eyed behind them, his ears twitching and the slits in his eyes dilating slightly. His tail moved slowly behind him from side to side as he glared at the empty space behind them. A serious look crossed over his face." Something's there." he stood his ground.

Yogi couldn't hear anything." What are you—

Suddenly a low growl came from behind him. He tensed up knowing that it didn't belong to Gareki. He slowly turned around. His eyes couth the sight of a big furry creature standing taller then his own stature, it's bulky size making it look powerful. Yogi looked strait into it's fierce yellow eyes as it sat on the stone wall on it's hind legs. It jumped towards but he was frozen to the spot taken over by shock to even move.

Suddenly he felt a body slam into his pushing him onto the ground with a thud. He blinked up at Gareki who was glaring down at him." Next time move your ass!" he scolded. Yogi looked behind Gareki only to see that the creature was about to slam his fist down on them. He quickly wrapped his arms around him pulling him to his chest before rolling out of the way.

Yogi on top of him now pushed himself up on his hands and knees staring down at him with concern." What the hell is that thing?"

"It's a lycan! Now move!" he shoved him off as he got to his feet making his glaive appear in his hands before charging towards the beast. He jumped up high holding his weapon above his head to strike down when ready.

The lycan roared as Gareki landed on the back of it's neck stabbing his glaive into it's skin. It raised it's hand grabbing Gareki before throwing him off. He flew towards the ground hitting it before rolling hard until he came to a stop against the stone wall. He groaned painfully.

"Gareki?!" Yogi yelled in concern. Pastel landed next to him on the ground." Get up, we need to run, you can't fight against that thing."

"Yes I can, I don't need you to tell me what I need to do." he pushed himself up to his feet shrugging off the pain. he looked up only to see that the lycan was headed strait for Yogi who wasn't paying attention." Behind you!" he yelled.

He turned his body around just in time to see the lycan throwing his fist down. Yogi held his hands out not know what else to do since he didn't have time to run or summon a spell." No!" he yelled just as his hands glowed a brightly unleashing a powerful blast from his palms.

Both Gareki and Pastel felt a gush of wind blow strongly against them pushing them back against the stone wall. Garek looked up watching as the lycan was forcedly pushed back by the powerful blast Yogi had unleash. Apon a closer look Gareki saw the amulet around his neck glowing brightly as if it had caused the spell to unleash itself. That thing was really protecting him.

Yogi kept his hands held out towards the beast until his arms got tired and he stopped the spell, dropping his arms down to his sides as he panted slightly from the adrenaline rushing through him as he thought his life was going to be taken right at that moment.

The lycan laid on the ground in front of him but it wasn't defeated or dead yet. It slowly got back up to it's feet and faced Yogi before opening it's mouth and barked loudly in his face. It stepped forward about to kill him but Gareki acted quickly.

He focused some of his magic that was left into the blade on his glaive. The blade glowed blue with electrical currents running through it, it slowly growing stronger as he charged it's power. He inhaled a breath placing the rod on his shoulder for a better hold and pointed the glowing blade strait at the lycan, everything seeming to go in slow motion in his eyes as he aimed and fired the blue electrical blast right from the tip of his weapon. The force of it making his arms jerk back.

He watched the blast swiftly cut through the air and struck the lycan right in it's mouth blowing it up. Yogi shielded himself as flying skin, fur and intestines from the beast flew at him.

Gareki made a shield around himself and Pastel as well. Reluctantly deciding to help the cat from getting dirtied by the flying insides of a lycan."We need to leave, we're in their territory and they'll be more coming here." he informed.

Gareki undid his shield and stared down at the cat." Why didn't you tell us we were in a lycan's territory in the first place?" he snapped.

"This was the only way I knew of that could get us close to Jiki's cave. I'm trying to get this mission of getting your soul back over with so you two can help me get out of this cave remember? I've had enough of being down here so I wanted to speed things up."

"Fair enough," he muttered as he looked towards Yogi. He walked over to him looking at the strewn about pieces of fur and skin." You okay?"

Yogi turned to him." We're you the one who hit it with that blast of magic just now?"

Gareki nodded." Yeah, why?"

Yogi exhaled a breath of relief."Thanks, I thought that was my life back there."

"It will be all of our lives if we don't get out of here now." Pastel pointed out urging them to stop talking. All of them began running, Pastel leading them in another part of the maze but they still were in the lycan territory.

"What are those creatures even doing here anyway?" Yogi asked as he ran along side Gareki.

"Like I said before this is a maze full of traps and puzzles, that even includes creatures such as lycans to try and kill us." Pastel informed.

"Great as if we haven't been through enough already," Gareki said, clearly annoyed." Now do you understand how dangerous this world is?" he turned to Yogi.

"I've understood that ever since we came into Laisra." he replied as Pastel lead them into another direction. Gareki opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by a loud howl. Another lycan was after them he could hear it running behind them from a few feet away.

Pastel jumped up onto the stone wall as they both continued to follow him. Yogi eyed the ground before looking at Pastel." Aren't there supposed to be hidden traps here, we shouldn't be running like this if there are."

"What other choice do we have!" Gareki yelled as he heard the lycan getting closer." We need to move faster, I can hear another lycan running after us."

"Gareki I'm not sure if that's a good idea, we'll get ourselves in a trap and then you know what'll happen next," Yogi protested. Gareki eyed him before looking ahead again." Fine, then we stop, fight and kill it just like we did the last. Let's hope I have enough magic left."

Yogi agreed but just as they were about to stop running Yogi stepped on a hidden wire and triggered a trap." Oh, crap," he muttered both of them stopping abruptly. Gareki turned to face him confused but his confusion turned into surprise as a net pulled up from the ground and lifted them both up inside of it, pushing them both to bump heads.

They groaned painfully, rubbing their heads. Yogi recovered opening his eyes he noticed how close their faces were and immediately images of his dream from earlier surfaced into his mind making him blush. Gareki opened his eyes at first staring at Yogi confused before he pulled his head back now realizing how close they were. He could hear the lycan still coming after them but it was closer now." We need to get out of this," he said seriously. He looked down at the ground where his glaive was laying on the grass. He had dropped it during the net pulling them up.

He caught Pastel looking up at them." You two have seriously gotten yourselves caught in a net at a time like this," he said annoyed.

"can you get us out?" Yogi asked, turning his head to look down at him. Gareki squeezed his hand out of the net spreading his hand wide as he closed his eyes and focused on his weapon trying to summon it so it could come towards him. He sense it floating towards his finger tip and gripped it tightly so it wouldn't fall. He brought it up and maneuvered it so he could cut against the rope net.

Yogi saw in the corner of his eye that the lycan was running towards them." Pastel!" he yelled. The cat leaped up and clung to the net before climbing to the top where it was hanging from a tree branch. He clawed it with his nails. The net fell to the ground.

Gareki pushed it off of him and stood up before grabbing Yogi's hand pulling him to his feet." We need to move, now!"

"But what about fighting it," he stated.

Gareki looked down at his glaive before looking back up at Yogi." My magic is too weak and you sure as hell can't fight that thing on your own. So let's go." he ran with Pastel at his side leaving Yogi there staring after him before he reluctantly followed. They followed Pastel again as he lead them through the maze in different directions that looked the same from the last.

All the while Gareki continued to hear the lycan chasing after them." It's being persistent."

"That is what lycans do to their pray if it runs away from them." Pastel said.

They kept running until they turned another corner and hit a dead end. They stopped and turned around only to see that the lycan was just in front of them a few feet away. Gareki stood in a fighting stance with his weapon held tightly in his hands." Great, now we have to fight this thing. This might be the end for all of us."

"Don't say that," Yogi protested as he held his amulet out as a means to protect himself."

The lycan charged towards them and they tensed up ready to attack." Here it comes," Pastel said, preparing himself to fight too.

Gareki could feel the vibrations from the lycan running toward them from below his feet. Suddenly the ground cracked and it opened up. Yogi stumbled back looking at the ground in surprise." What. . .what's happened?"

Just as he had said that the ground opened up wider and they all fell holding onto the edge before getting swept down. Dirt fell into an abyss, at least that's what it looked like from the sight of it." Pull yourselves up," Pastel yelled just as the earth he was holding onto broke away and he fell into the darkness.

"Pastel?!" yelled Yogi watching the whole thing happen, he couldn't do anything to save him, his hands were occupied with holding on for dear life. He turned back, looking up as the lycan approached them. It lifted it's fist and both of them knew what it was going to do next.

"No!"

"Don't do it," Gareki yelled the same time as Yogi had. The lycan slammed it's fist onto the ground forcing the earth they were gripping onto to break away and they fell into the darkness. Their screams echoing off the walls.


	31. Under The Lycan's Nest

**Music Choice—Evanescence—Going Under**

 **Now I will Tell You What I've Done For You**

 **50 Thousand Years I've Cried**

 **Screaming, Deceiving, And Bleeding For You**

 **And You Still Won't Hear Me**

* * *

Yogi reached out both of his arms as both Gareki and himself fell down into the abyss, getting lost in it's darkness. His fingers kept scraping against the dirt walls as he tried to grab onto it. But he was falling too fast to even have enough time to get a good enough grip on anything that would stop him from falling.

He heard Gareki grunt painfully as a thud rang out through his ears." Are you okay!" he yelled trying to find him in the darkness. His eyes glowed and soon he could see Gareki's eyes and tattoos doing the same thing, providing him too the sight to see in the darkness.

"I'm fine." he said a bit painfully. . .I just hit my back against something hard," he answered. His arms reaching out wide so he could grab onto something to stop himself from free falling as well.

Yogi suddenly felt something hard hit against his back before it flung over to Gareki. The blade glowed a light blue as it ended up in his open palm and he griped onto it. It was his glaive. Yogi watched Gareki turn his body around quickly in mid air as he struck the blade into the wall causing rocks and dirt to fly from the impact. The hard medal cut into the earth as his weight dragged it down.

Yogi looked down and saw that the ground was nearing them." Gareki, the ground's getting closer," he informed. Finally his glaive hit something hard and abruptly stopped him from falling, Gareki reached out his hand and quickly gripped Yogi's wrist. Yogi gripped onto Gareki's wrist for a tighter hold as he dangled a few feet above the ground.

He felt relieved that he hadn't hit the ground. If he had it would've for sure killed him. He inhaled breaths as he felt his heart jumping in his chest from the long fall." Are you okay, Gareki," he asked again.

He clenched tighter onto his glaive." No, I'm not going to be able to hold us much longer."

Yogi looked down at the ground again." Don't worry we'll be fine, drop us down."

"Are you sure?" he asked, looking down at him. He nodded. He sighed as he let go of Yogi first. He heard him land on the ground a second later before bringing his hand up to grip onto his glaive and began to pull it out of the earth before falling as well.

He fell onto the hard ground onto his feet with a loud thud that echoed through out the tunnel they were in. He held his glaive in his hand, deciding to keep it out for self defense reasons. He held it up in front of his face to turn off the brightness of the blade part, watching it dull back down until it no longer glowed light blue. Standing up strait, he turned to look at Yogi's back as he stood in an opening that had glowing purple light shining in front of him casting his shadow from behind. His dark eyebrows creased confusedly as he watched him just standing there with an awed look on his face.

He walked over to him." What are you looking at?"

Yogi turned his head to him before stepping aside allowing him to have a look. Gareki stepped around the corner and look at the glowing purple diamonds growing out of the ground of the tunnel, making it appear brighter. He eyed the smaller diamonds on the walls as they appeared to sparkle at every movement he made.

His eyes caught the sight of tiny floating specks with little legs that moved slowly up and down making them float in mid air, they resembled jelly fish movements and kind of looked like them too but Gareki knew they weren't. He had seen these creatures before but definitely not in a tunnel like this. They glowed white against the purple walls. It was beautiful and Gareki had to admit it but this was the least of what mattered at the moment, all of this was. He quickly turned to Yogi." We need to find that damn cat and get the hell out of here. We don't know when another one of those lycans show up." he turned away and began walking. "Let's just keep moving."

"Good point." Yogi followed close behind." But do you know where we should go?"

Gareki stopped mid step, his shoulders sinking down." No, but it's best if we don't stay in one spot." he kept walking." I already know that wild beast has our scent."

Yogi thought about the way that creature looked a lot like a werewolf from the stories he read back in his own castle. But he hadn't thought they'd be real much less in a beautiful maze like this. But a lot of creatures and monsters in this world had faced them and a bunch of those he hadn't even seen before either so he thought it was best not to question the wild mythical creatures in this world anymore. It was all beginning to seem like he was in some kind of fairytale that proved to be way more dangerous then it should be in a book.

But he couldn't help but want to know about that aggressive creature."So that thing up there that attacked us. . .was it a—

"Werewolf?" Gareki interjected. He turned his head to look back at him seeing if that was the right answer. Yogi nodded. He turned back around." Yeah, it was. But in this world we call them lycans."

"Why," the blonde asked as he ducked forward underneath a low sealing of the tunnel Gareki led him through. They stood up again as it ended back into a high sealing of stalactites that were marred with clear crystals shining against the purple light.

"I don't know, we just do." he shrugged. "It's been that way for a very long time. Ever since the dark ages where they first formed."

Yogi eyed the back of Gareki's hair finding all of this interesting." Were you in the dark ages?"

The Avatar blew out a short laugh which surprised Yogi considering he hadn't thought such a sound would come out of his mouth." Listen, I may be 118 years old but I'm not that old," he confirmed with a small smile on his face." The dark ages were years ago before I was even born, it was most likely the time when my mother was just in her teenage years."

Yogi lifted his eyebrows in surprise. Gareki's mother must've been really old then, but she didn't look anywhere near it. More like she appeared to be in her 40's but still beautiful and youthful looking. He decided not to ask how old she was, he felt as though that was private. But he would ask how long the Avatarian race lived for.

"We live for a long, long time. Up until we reach the millions," Gareki replied as Yogi walked beside him." That's impressive." he stared at Gareki in awe.

He shrugged again." Not really, it gets boring at some point having to live that long."

"I happen to think different from you. I would love to live for a long time."

"But you can." his slit blue eyes eyeing him side ways." I remember you telling me your aging rate is every 10 years."

"I know, but I like living was what I meant to say." the blonde corrected himself.

"Whatever." Gareki muttered." I guess I'm just saying it because our worlds are different. My world is dangerous and your world is. . . . Sunny? I think."

Yogi nodded in comprehension." I get it." he stared at his pointed ear before coming up with another question. He didn't know why he was coming up with so many questions to ask but he was feeling as though he wanted to know everything about Gareki and this world." So you're an Avatarian but I can't help but notice you have mixed things about you."

Gareki gave him a confused look."What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that it looks like you're mixed with a bunch of mythical creatures."

Gareki shook his head as he lead him in another tunnel."There was a time when I was just as curious as you, asking what I was meant to be in this world considering at that point in my life no one but the people in my kingdom resembled what we looked like. My mother told me that a long time ago we were formed by the ice gods that lived in the snowy mountains near our castle. They made a male and female out of the mythical creatures and humans that lived near the mountains and those creatures were known as a fearie, a blue specked mountain lion, and a vampire. They also gave that male and female some of their powers over ice and snow and told them to form a kingdom that would be known to belong to the Avatarian race. Those two were the first king and queen of the Ice Castle and before you know it more of us were born from them and we expanded our race over time."

Yogi blinked in interest."Wow," he breathed."That sounds amazing. But those mythical creatures and humans you mentioned how does that mix with you?"

"For one the faerie is my pointed ears, the blue specked lion is my tail and my slit eyes, and lastly the vampire is obviously for my fangs, thirst for blood and my ageing rate. Now you know what I'm mixed with." he stated plainly." You have any more questions?"

Yogi smiled." Is it bothering you?"

Gareki paused and thought about it before answering." No, surprisingly it's not. Go ahead and ask away it's better than listening to silence." he offered.

"Okay uh. . .how about your glaive. Is it just a regular weapon from your castle or is it. . . more special?"

Gareki held it up and looked at it deciding what it meant to him." It's special. I won this over in a traditional fight."

"You fight for tradition," Yogi asked.

"We fight to see whose strong for future battles. You should know when you live in a kingdom there's always some kind of fight with another kingdom who wants war. My mother said if I were going to be the next heir to the throne then I must become stronger and relentless with my enemies. So I won this glaive in a fight and I've had it through every battle thrown my way. Over the years it's connected with my me and now I use it as a special weapon that I can summon with my own magic. I guess you can resemble this to that amulet around your neck."

Yogi held up said amulet. he was right, the amulet did connect with his own magic just like his glaive did." True, your weapon kind of does have the same back story as mine. Your culture sounds amazing but I can tell your people are bent on protecting their home."

"Of course they are, aren't yours?"

"Yes, but they mostly rely on me for protection." suddenly Yogi thought of how all of the people from his kingdom were turned into trolls. He sighed."Well. . .I failed them for protection. I thought that I was ready. I thought of being king over and over again in my life but when the day came all of it just went to disaster. I regret for thinking so highly of myself without thinking what it truly meant to protect people as a king would."

Gareki looked at him feeling a sudden emotion that he could only describe as pity. He froze at the emotion that had suddenly surfaced inside of him. he thought he was mistaken at first but realized he was actually feeling this way. Where had it come from? He looked at Yogi once more feeling confusion go through him just for a second. He could feel his outlook for this person next to him changing into an emotion he completely hadn't felt before. Admiration crossed through him as he kept staring at the blonde.

". . . It's okay, you may have failed once but at least you have a chance to make things better. It's not too late for you to turn things around," he solaced.

Yogi closed his eyes tightly for a second before opening them again." You're right." he sighed again feeling pleased that Gareki consoled him. he decided to change the subject into a less discouraging one."Honestly this day has been too action packed for the both of us, it's sort of all falling onto my shoulders now of how many troublesome things we've been through already."

"I told you from the start this world is dangerous," Gareki recalled.

Yogi silently nodded as he crossed his arms coming up with yet another question he wanted to ask him but wasn't sure if he should. He sighed again before thinking what the hell and went ahead and said it." So, about you being banished and all, I'm sorry for bringing it up at a time like this but I just want to know. . . if you forgive me for making you lose your kingdom?"

Gareki didn't answer him right away causing him to regret the question. He thought to himself why had he thought it would be okay to ask him such a question in the first place? He opened his mouth to speak but words didn't come out. He thought about what he was going to say to cover up the awkward silence that was now floating in the air like tension.

"You don't have to answer that," he said softly.

Gareki looked down at the ground as he continued to walk leaving the question in the air unanswered after a few minutes as he thought about it. He had told himself he would try and forgive him but he wasn't sure if he could fully forget what he had caused to happen. But he was at fault too so it wasn't completely his fault. Finally he came up with an answer as he slowed his walk and turned to face him.

"Not entirely," he answered in a low voice as he eyed the amulet against his chest before looking up into his eyes." Something like that is going to be hard for me to forgive."

Yogi nodded in understanding. He sucked in the bottom corner of his lower lip before slowly letting it go." I know, something like that would be hard for me to forgive also. But just to let you know, I'm sorry. . .I realized that I haven't even apologized for making that happen to you."

Gareki nodded once in gratitude before turning around and walked again. Part of it was my fault too. I allowed myself to help you."

"Do you regret helping me?" his eyebrows furrowed.

"I did at first and I still do a little bit but I'm starting to get over it. For the most part I just don't know where I'll go after this whole journey with you is over. That's my biggest problem right now. But I guess I'll just have to go back to Gabriel's—

"No," Yogi interjected. Gareki turned his head to look at him, a questioning look on his face."Why?"

"Um. . .well," he fumbled to find the right words to say. He honestly didn't want Gareki going back there because he knew that the faerie guardian had a crush on him and although it hadn't bothered him before it sure as hell bothered him now, especially just from the thought that they'd be living together.

"Doesn't he like you? It would be kind of weird living with him knowing that he has those kinds of feelings towards you." Gareki gave him a strange look." Um, are you implying that we might end up being together just from me living with him?" he asked incredulously.

"It might happen." Yogi shrugged nonchalantly, confirming that it was exactly what he was implying.

Gareki shook his head." No it won't, we're not like that. He knows that I don't like him in that way. We're more like close friends rather then anything further," he informed. A question popped into his head and it was about Gareki's sexuality but there was no way he would ask him something like that no matter how curious he was.

"I'm actually surprised that you said something like that. No one's really questioned me like the way you just did before."

"That's because you're intimidating. You just have this aura about you that makes anyone want to do as you say or it makes people not want to approach you."

Gareki couldn't help but smile at that." You don't know how right you are." finally they exited the tunnel they had been walking in for the last 10 minutes. Yogi looked around as they both entered a wide open space with only two tunnels leading into different directions.

"Oh great, more tunnels," Gareki grumbled as he trailed his eyes over them." We may have to split up."

Yogi quickly gave him a look of disaproval." Are you kidding? No, we're not doing something like that. You said it yourself, that lycan from earlier has our scent and not to mention we're still in their territory, only underground."

Gareki stepped away from him looking as if he hadn't heard a word he just said as he walked towards one of the tunnels crouching down as he looked inside of it." What if I find an exit this way and I find Pastel then you'd be left feeling salty knowing my idea worked." Gareki smirked as he turned his head towards him.

Yogi crossed his arms." No you'd be feeling salty if we both got chased and ended up being killed all because you decided to split up. Haven't you heard of the saying of two is better than one?" he countered.

Gareki rolled his eyes, getting back up into a standing position before turning his body to face the blonde." Alright. . . then we'll stick to your idea." he walked over to him.

"Good." Yogi was about to turn but suddenly he heard a loud bark from above them. it echoed loudly against the cave walls. They both looked up as two lycans stared down at them. They jumped down. Both of them had no time to react as they were pushed aside by both lycans.

Gareki slammed into the wall, back first. He dropped his weapon before falling to the ground with a thud. He clenched his jaw tightly from the pain coursing through his body from the impact.

Yogi formed a barrier around himself as he hit against the other side of the wall but was uninjured. He landed on the ground looking over to Gareki who struggled to get to his hands and knees. One of the lycans advancing towards his unguarded form.

Yogi quickly looked up only to see the other lycan that had slapped him aside was walking towards him. His eyebrows creased in a serious manner." Oh, no."


	32. Surrounded

**Music Choice—NightWish—Weak Fantasy**

 **These Stories Given To Us All**

 **Are Filled With Sacrifice And Robes Of Lust**

 **Dissonant Choirs And Downcast Eyes**

 **Selfhood Of condescending Ape**

* * *

Yogi stood frozen as the lycan standing right in front of him lifted it's hand into a fist aiming it down towards him. He looked over to Gareki who was still struggling to get to his feet as the other lycan kept getting closer to him. It was going to end his life right then and there on the spot if he didn't do something to stop it but he was stuck in his own situation.

The question inside his head kept asking him over and over again. What was he going to do? His eyes averted back to the large fist coming his way. He couldn't react, once again he stood there frozen. But suddenly a bright golden light came from his amulet just as the lycan's fist came for him only to stop a few inches from his face before harshly being pushed back by the powerful blast of magic thrown against him.

Wind rushed past his body, moving his hair away from his face as he stood there, mouth slightly hanging open in surprise. It had happened again, but he hadn't summoned that blast of magic just now. . .the amulet was just protecting him. Of course it was he thought in realization. How could he forget?

He looked over to Gareki. He noticed the lycan was right above him now, leaning it's mouth down to take a bite out of him. He reached his hand up and gripped onto the amulet before holding it out summoning up a spell. He said the words fast inside his head as the hard medal of the amulet started to glow brightly once more before unleashing it's magic in the lycan's direction.

Yogi watched his magic hit directly into the lycan's side, sending the aggressive beast crashing into the cave wall. He ran over to Gareki kneeling down before resting a hand on his shoulder. Gareki pushed himself back up onto his hands and knees." Can you walk?"

He nodded before grabbing onto his glaive and stood up."We need to get out of here." he held onto his shoulder, turning it in a circle to release some of the aching he felt in his muscles." I don't know why I hadn't realized it before, but we're in their nest, the place where they reside."

"Then we need to figure out which tunnel we need to go through," Yogi urged as he looked at both tunnels." We're going to have to guess."

Gareki averted his eyes and glared at the lycans as they began to move again, walking towards them and blocked their paths to the tunnels. Yogi dropped his hand from Gareki's shoulder and took a step forward as he pulled his sword out of it's sheath and held it out protectively in front of his body." Looks like we have to fight our way through. Do you have enough magic to left?"

"Yeah," Gareki replied, feeling it coursing through his body little by little as it built up inside of him. He gripped onto his glaive holding it in both hands as he eyed the lycan standing a few feet in front of him." You fight the other one, I got this one," he stated. Yogi nodded and they both ran forward ready to fight. Gareki gained momentum as he ran closer to the lycan. Within a few feet distancing themselves away from each other he placed his feet together before jumping up high.

He held his weapon out in front of him before quickly speaking a spell. The blade of his glaive glowed brightly before an electrical current flowed from his hands all the way down the staff until it reached the blade end and flew off towards the lycan. It struck through the air with a cold steam surrounding it in a quick speed before it hit the lycan in one of its front legs causing it to jerk forward.

Gareki landed on it's back. He held his glaive above his head, about to stab it through the lycan's flesh but he was thrown off it's back as the beast stood up on it's hind legs. He lost his footing and fell to the ground hard onto his back, rolling until he came to a stop against a wall. The lycan turned to his strewn about body and growled as it started to run his way.

Gareki turned to his front side feeling the aching in his body as he reached his hand out and clenched the ground forcing the pain away before pushing himself up to his feet and jumped up high once again right as the lycan crashed into the cave wall where he had been standing a second ago. He tightened his hands around the staff of his weapon before doing a side flip landing on his feet before he turned his body around to face the lycan.

It's yellow eyes turned and looked him strait in his dark blue-grey ones. It bared its teeth as it's hands flexed making it's black claws appear longer. It barked loudly at Gareki before running strait for him. He could feel the vibrations of it running through his feet.

Gareki prepared himself in a ready stance as the lycan got closer. It raised it's uninjured hand and slammed it down trying to hit him but Gareki back flipped out of the way once again landing on his feet. The fist pulled up aiming for him again but Gareki held his glaive out, the blade cutting into it's fist.

It barked loudly again but this time in a painful way. Gareki let go of the staff of his weapon before taking a step back. He brought up his hands and quickly formed hand symbols, his black tribal tattoos glowing blue as he kept up his hand signs. His eyes stayed trained on the lycan in front of him. It whined in pain as the glaive inside of it's fist began freezing his hand from the inside.

Gareki stopped moving his hands into symbols, he came to a stop at the last symbol keeping that symbol up so his spell could finish it's work. He watched as the lycan's fist began growing a layer of ice over it's dark fur. It spread up his arm, growing to more regions of it's body. It struggled to move as the ice began to cover itself over more of it's fur.

He could feel his hands shaking as he tried to keep up the hand symbol. This spell required special amounts of magical strength especially for a creature as strong as this. Fighting strength with strength was what mostly mattered when he was up against bigger and stronger creatures then himself. He always kept that in mind.

His eyes moved over to see how Yogi was holding up in his own fight. He wasn't even from this realm and yet he was still holding his own against a powerful beast such as this. He was fighting against the lycan well but not well enough. He could see he had been scratched on his left shoulder, further more ripping the white button up he was wearing. He made a note to himself to help him after he was done handling his own fight. Gareki removed his eyes from the blonde and continued to focus his spell.

The lycan gave out one last bark of pain before it was completely swallowed up by the ice. He dropped the hand symbol and moved towards it's frozen body. He grabbed onto the staff and yanked his glaive out of the ice before stepping back again. He faced the lycan before twirling his glaive and slammed it down hard against the ice. With just that one hit the ice cracked and began falling to the ground. The lycan's body breaking away along with the ice as it did. It was dead.

"Gareki," Yogi called out. The avatar turned just in time to see a bushy tail coming his way before it slapped him back with a strong force. His body flew to another wall about to have another painful impact but suddenly something wrapped around his ankle and yanked him towards the ground.

He landed on his front side. Turning his body in a sitting position he looked down only to see a vine was wrapped around his leg. Looking up he saw Yogi's sword pointing at him with vines growing out of a bright golden orb in front of his sword. The lycan huffed a breath before facing Yogi wondering where the vine had come from. Once it had found it's source it growled, it's yellow eyes looking at Yogi warily. It's body turned to face him, forgetting about Gareki as it slowly began walking over to Yogi instead.

Gareki quickly took the vine away from his leg and yelled a warning at Yogi. The blonde turned his eyes and looked at the lycan running over to him. It's mouth wide open. Sharp teeth and a long tongue was all Yogi saw. He held his hands up protectively but he wasn't sure if his amulet would do the same blast of magic again without having time to recharge it's power.

Gareki's eyes widened as his heart lurched inside his chest in panic. he quickly reached for his glaive but he knew he wouldn't make it in time to help Yogi. Just then he heard a loud snap of the lycan's mouth clamp shut and he quickly turned his head afraid that Yogi had already been eaten. But before he could focus on what he saw a sudden bright light blocked it all away. He shut his eyes at it's brightness.

A few seconds passed with silence and behind his closed eyelids he could see the bright light diming down. He opened his eyes and saw Yogi standing there in front of the lycan with Pastel sitting in front of him. A barrier surrounding the two of them.

"You two really can't stay out of trouble today can you?" the cat said with it's voice of amusement.

Gareki stared at the cat, not expecting him to be there automatically. Yogi wasn't all that much surprised considering the cat normally appeared out of no where all the time. "Pastel?" Gareki muttered.

The cat got up from it sitting position and suddenly blue flames appeared around him in a circle floating above his head. The lycan stared at the cat hungrily. Despite the barrier blocking it, it lurched forward trying to attack him. Pastel undid the barrier and threw all the blue flames into it's open mouth.

Yogi and Pastel took a step back as the lycan collapsed right in front of them. It growled lowly as it struggled to open it's mouth. It got back up but it shook itself around as sparks of blue flames left the cracks of it mouth.

Gareki walked over to them and eyed the lycan as it thrashed around wildly." What did you do to it?"

"Not all creatures like their food spicy." was all the cat said before walking towards a tunnel." Follow me you two, I've found us a way out of this place."

Yogi exchanged looks with Gareki before they both went along and followed the cat through the tunnel." So that's just it?" Gareki questioned." You're just going to appear out of no where and save our lives without saying where you've been this whole time? We were looking for you and you were far from the place where you were supposed to land, Pastel."

"Oh, you actually used my name this time instead of 'damn cat', it's quite a relief." he spoke.

Gareki frowned at him and Yogi could feel the tension rise again." Pastel, can you be serious for just this once," the blonde implored for the sake another argument wouldn't start up between the two again.

"You think I'm not after that intimidating speech he gave me earlier about sucking my blood? I'm not joking around this time at least for a while anyway."

"Like I'd believe that," Gareki said in a low voice.

"You're right, you shouldn't." Pastel countered, hearing what he said anyway.

"Just answer my question, where were you?" he snapped.

"I was actually looking for a way out of this place, and if you haven't noticed we're right inside the lycan's layer so I had to leave you two so I could sneak through this place undetected." he turned back and eyed them both before turning around again." You two aren't as small as me so I needed to ditch you for a moment and hope to myself that you didn't get yourselves killed."

Gareki crossed his arms." And you were actually worried about us?" he asked flatly.

The cat turned around again to look at them before correcting himself." Well not you, but the blonde yes." he faced forward again. Gareki rolled his eyes not really caring if the fur ball cared about his life or not." So where are we going?" Yogi asked as he put his sword back into it's sheath that was placed inside of his holster.

"Beyond this tunnel I found another hole in the sealing similar to the one we all fell through, I'm sure we can climb it."

"Won't it lead us to some other part of the maze? We'll be off track if we go that way." Yogi pointed out.

"Actually, I believe we'll be a lot closer to Jiki's cave if we go in this direction."

Gareki lifted an eyebrow at the cat. "How do you know?"

"I can tell that we're heading the correct way of his cave just from the direction we're walking in right now."

"We might as well stay alert, we don't know when another one of those Lycans are going to pop up again." Yogi informed as he looked back from the direction they had just come from.

"All the more reason for us to hurry up and get out of here," Gareki said, sniffing the air." Our scent is floating all around us which means more lycans could be tracking us right now especially from the loud noise we made fighting."

"Agreed, you two did make a lot of noise. That's how I found you." Pastel spoke." It wouldn't surprise me if lycans would be chasing after us right now."

Gareki placed his hand on the wall and stopped suddenly. Yogi took a couple steps forward before noticing Gareki wasn't beside him. He stopped and turned to see Gareki looking at the rocky surface of the tunnel wall where his hand was placed."Gareki. . . what are you doing," he asked, turning his body to face him.

Pastel stopped walking as well and turned to the two of them." We really should keep moving—

Gareki held up a hand for him to stop talking as his other stayed pressed against the wall. He leaned his ear to it, his eyes staring into Yogi's iris's as he listened. He could feel the pulse of the slow vibrations against his palm and finger tips and he could hear the ever so slight shifting of movement.

His eyes squinted at Yogi as he pulled away from the wall. He passed him walking quickly."We need to hurry and get out of this place, they're coming for us." no sooner had he said this the entire ground vibrated strongly. In the distance they could hear footsteps and snarls from lycans getting closer to where they were.

Exchanging looks they all turned and ran down the tunnel just as the lycans rounded the corner and were chasing after them." How did you know they'd be after us," Yogi yelled as the sound of lycans snarling echoed in the tunnel.

"My senses told me," he answered as they exited the tunnel coming out into a big opening where more tunnels were. "Which way?" Yogi asked Pastel.

Pastel looked around before spotting the correct tunnel." Follow me." he ran forward leading them across. Gareki could hear the lycans getting closer as they followed Pastel. It sounded as if more were coming. He looked around and saw that the tunnels were all accompanied by werewolves coming out of them. They were going to surround them and from the looks of it he could tell they weren't going to make it to the other side without having to fight their way through.

All of them stopped as their path was blocked. Yogi pulled out his sword and Gareki stood in a self defense stance as he held his glaive with both hands." Here we go again."

Yogi glared at the lycans crowding around them in a circle. His violate eyes scanning over them as they all glared back at him with those yellow eyes. He felt Gareki's back press against his as he too scanned over the crowd of lycans." You ready for this?" he asked.

Yogi clenched the handle of his sword a golden hue surrounding the blade."I might as well be."

"Remember, we're only headed for the tunnel in front of us, don't lose sight of that while fighting. Only focus on the lycans that are in our way." Pastel informed, as blue flames appeared above him once more.

Gareki felt the spark of magic pulsing through his finger tips as his eyes tightened on the lycans in front of him." Alright. . . lets do this."

All three of them ran forward ready to attack.


	33. Powerful To Powerless

Gareki struck down another lycan. He glared down at the beast as it landed at his feet. He heard snarling in his left ear and quickly turned around just in time to cut another lycan in it's nose as it tried to take a bite out of him.

The lycan cried out before lurching for him again, it's mouth wide open but Gareki jumped back. striking his glaive into the snout of it's mouth before freezing it. The werewolf's body turned into ice. He yanked out his glaive before swiftly turning to cut another lycan in it's face.

It jerked away from him as he twirled his glaive in his hand summoning up ice darts that flew strait towards the lycans all trying to gain a sneak attack on him. He backed up coming up next to Yogi who was occupied with another opponent.

"There's so many of them!" Yogi yelled. He brought up his sword and cut down another lycan before attacking another.

"I know, but we need to keep fighting. We still need to get passed them."

Yogi groaned as a strong fist pushed him. He bumped into Gareki who nearly lost his footing if he hadn't shoved Yogi back to his own feet. "Keep your guard up, you can't let them knock you down." he scolded.

"Right," Yogi agreed as he attacked the lycan that had shoved him. "But there has to be some other way to defeat these things—but faster."

Gareki lurched forward stabbing his glaive into a lycan's hand, he pushed it in deeply before allowing his magic to freeze it's entire body into a statue. But even though he killed this one more would always come to replace it. Yogi was right, they did need a faster way of defeating these things or else they wouldn't get a chance to escape this place.

"Can't you use that strong blast of magic you did twice already?" he asked.

Yogi dodged a hit before striking back." I wish I could use it at will but it just happens when I can't protect myself."

"You seriously can't use that powerful magic unless you're not expecting something to attack you? Some kind of amulet you got there," he said half heartedly.

"Hey don't blame it on the amulet. It's broken in half so some of it's magic isn't working as it's supposed to," Yogi defended." What about you? Can't you just freeze these guys?"

Gareki half turned and frown at him for a second before going back to attack another lycan." If I could don't you think I would've done it already if my own magic weren't fucked up at the moment because of half my soul being gone?"

Yogi cringed slightly at his mistake." That would be logical, sorry."

"We need to figure out some way to defeat these beasts," Pastel interrupted as he threw another flame at the crowd of lycans advancing towards them.

"We've already mentioned that," Gareki stated.

Pastel sighed before stepping closer to them. He closed his eyes and focused as a barrier formed around them, blocking the lycans from attacking them. Both Gareki and Yogi paused. "Why is there a barrier?" Yogi asked.

"I formed it," Pastel said.

Gareki dropped his arms from their self defense position and dropped the blade end of his glaive to the ground, still holding it by the staff." Why, we're only wasting time being in here."

"We need to come up with a plan. Us just fighting endlessly isn't going to get us anywhere and besides, we're wasting our magic." he turned to them.

"What do you expect we do," Yogi asked. He stared at the lycans as they pounded against the barrier. All of them crowding around as they joined their strength at pounding against it." We need a plan quickly, I don't think this barrier will hold."

Gareki looked around them as well. "He's right, unless you have strong magic at using barriers then I suggest we hurry and come up with a plan, now." Pastel looked at them both in thought." Have either of you ever combined magic before?"

They turned to look at the cat. "As in together," Yogi clarified. Pastel nodded. Yogi shook his head." No, we're opposites. I'm not sure how well ice and heat would work together. If they can anyway."

"Just because you're both opposites doesn't mean you can't combine your magic." he flicked his tail." Now, I'll tell you both what we should do. You two need to combine your magic and once I take away this barrier unleash it all at once. After that's done we make a run for it towards the tunnel I told you to keep a good eye on."

"What if us combining our magic doesn't work," Gareki asked. Pastel looked at him. "I believe that it should work. I can tell that both of your magic is strong. So combining it should be even stronger."

He sighed before making his glaive disappear, placing a hand on his hip." What do we do then?"

"Hold hands and focus like normal."

"Is that it?"

He shook his head." You both should be feeling a pulling sensation with your magic, that's how you can tell it's combining with each other. Now, hold hands." Yogi took in a steady breath as Gareki turned and faced him. A serious expression on his face. Yogi held his hands up in front of himself and Gareki held his own up and reached forward soon intertwining their fingers with each other. They both felt the slight stinging sensation as hot and cold connected. It was an odd sensation that crossed through his body as he felt the pulse of Gareki's magic faintly thud within his palms. Gareki felt the same thing but with Yogi's pulse of magic.

They both subconsciously held on to each others hands tighter. The pounding on the barrier around them becoming faint as they focused only on each other. Yogi sighed a slow breath as he felt a strong jolt in both of his hands causing his arms to jerk slightly." Can you feel that," he said in a low voice to Gareki who only nodded. His serious expression slowly turning into a surprised one as the same thing happened to him.

"I don't know how to explain it. . .but I feel warmer. Something I haven't felt ever in my life," Gareki said breathlessly sounding awed.

"I know what you mean, but it's more of the opposite for me," Yogi said. He felt a cold sensation forming all around him. He knew it was Gareki's magic. He felt his own magic swarming itself around them as well even though he couldn't feel the warmth of it at the moment he knew Gareki had to of been feeling it. Suddenly there was a strong pulling sensation with his magic and he could feel Gareki's magic doing the same thing.

It got stronger with each passing second. Gareki stared into his violate eyes not blinking once. Yogi couldn't help but stare also. "It's happening," the Avatar said quietly.

Yogi felt the overwhelming pulse of Gareki's magic all around him. Pastel undid the barrier and all the lycans rushed for them." Now!" both of them unleashed their magic. An over whelming invisible force pushing all around them as they did.

Yogi could hear his heart beat in his ears. The slow thud. . .thud. . .thud matched the pulse of Gareki's magic flowing through the palms of their hands intertwining. Yogi stared into Gareki's eyes. Studying the way a lighter grey started from the center before turning into blue. His eyes were so intense apon closer examination and unique.

Suddenly he blinked and Yogi didn't feel the pulse of his magic any longer. Gareki pulled his hands away from his. The connection they had disappearing immediately and all that was left was the warmth of his own magic.

"It worked." Pastel's voice broke him out of his trance. Yogi looked up and saw that all the lycans were down. They laid on the ground unconscious. Not one stood up to attack them. Yogi examined the entire room seeing that they we're all like this.

"surprisingly It did," Gareki said, taking his eyes off of Yogi to look down at the cat."We need to go."

He agreed. "Exactly, let's head to the tunnel now."

Gareki turned to look at Yogi." Are you ready?"

Yogi paused for a second before nodding. He followed them as they jumped over the unconscious bodies of werewolves on the ground. They ran down the long hall of the tunnel. Only hearing the sound of their footsteps.

"It should be ahead of us," Pastel stated. It didn't take them long to reach the hole in the cave sealing. They all stopped, coming into another opening, but this one was smaller and it led into a another hallway. They walked towards the glowing light that was shining in from the hole above them. Presumably the one they were supposed to climb. Gareki looked up and saw that it was some what dark on the surface. No doubt it was night time up there.

"This is the hole you're talking about," asked Yogi. Pastel nodded before leaping up onto his shoulder." I'll be going first since I am the smallest who doesn't need a boost." he hopped up again and clung to the rocky surface before climbing up.

Both of them watched as he climbed up half way before they turned to each other." You want to go first," Gareki asked, turning his body to face him. Yogi looked up to see Pastel almost to the top now before looking back to Gareki." I think you should go first. I weigh more then you since I'm taller."

Gareki squinted one eye at him giving a funny look before agreeing." I'm stronger then you think, but whatever."

Yogi put his hands together so that he could step onto them for a boost. But right as Gareki placed his boot on his hands Yogi looked over his shoulder and saw a dark figure standing in the tunnel holding something close to it's mouth. Yogi opened his mouth to warn Gareki but he was too late as there was a wooshing sound.

Yogi watched as the small dart connected with Gareki's shoulder. He jerked back almost stumbling to the ground but he caught himself against the wall. He quickly grabbed the dart in his shoulder and yanked it out, bringing it in front of his face so he could see it. He growled angrily before snapping his head towards the dark figure."It's a trap," he said deeply before he stood up strait.

Yogi suddenly looked up and saw another dark figure clinging to the wall before it blew another dart down to them." Gareki!" he warned but the dart had already hit him in the back of his neck. He looked surprised for a second before his eyes rolled back and he fell forward. Yogi caught him before he hit the ground. He kneeled down next to him as he sat him carefully to the ground. He felt for his pulse and luckily it was still beating.

He looked up and caught sight of the dark figures stepping into the light and the next thing he saw surprised him. They were human."Who are you?" his voice was weary when it spoke.

Yogi felt a sharp sensation penetrate his skin. He froze and looked over to his arm where a dart had penetrated him. That was all he could focus on before the world around him turned blurry. He fell over, hearing the sound of his body hit the ground before closing his eyes

Drip. . . drip. . .drip. . .

Yogi opened his eyes at the constant drops of water connecting with the ground next to his head. He saw the cave wall next to him come into focus the longer he stared at it. He blinked a few times before quickly sitting up strait as he remembered what had happened before he passed out.

He felt a stinging pain on the side of his head and lifted his hand towards it. But he paused once he saw the cuffs locked onto his wrists." What," he whispered confusedly. He lifted his arms up in front of his face and tried to pull his wrists apart but the cuffs didn't break. He inhaled as he summoned his magic to his hands. A golden glow came over his them as he focused and tried to pull his wrist apart once again but the cuffs didn't break.

"Not even with my magic," he said to himself in a low voice. He lifted up both his hands towards the side of his head so he could feel where the pain was coming from. He dabbed his finger and brought it in front of his face. A drop of blood stared back at him. He must of hit his head once he fell unconscious. He looked around and saw a body, the persons back facing him as he laid on the ground on the far side of the cell they were in. Yogi identified him being Gareki and he crawled over to him.

He turned him onto his back and saw that he was still unconscious. But to make sure that he wasn't dead he felt for his pulse. It was still beating normally. He sighed in relief before lifting up his shirt to see his wound. It had closed all the way up and now only had a red hue to it. It was nearly completely healed which was good. That medicine really had done it's job at healing him quickly. Yogi placed his shirt back in place over his stomach before looking at their new surroundings.

It was a cell alright. But made out of the glowing cave surrounding them. Yogi stood up and walked over to the bars made out of solid rock. His hands wrapped around them as he looked out to see no one. He had expected to see those humans. He wondered what they were doing down here in the first place? He hadn't seen a normal human ever since he left his own realm. Those people were the ones who couldn't use magic and were just regular people.

But matby those people who had shot Gareki weren't normal at all.

He continued to examine everything around them in hopes of finding some way out of here. But there was nothing. Apparently from looking at the surroundings he could tell they were in some other part of the cave. Everything appeared different. He turned back around just now remembering Pastel, wondering if he had been caught as well. But once he turned around to look, the cat was no where in sight." Where is he?"

"Where is who?" Gareki pushed himself up as he awoke. He noticed the hand cuffs locked onto his wrists before looking at Yogi."What. . . the hell is this?" he tried to pull his wrist apart.

Yogi looked at his own cuffs before walking over to him." It's no use, they're stuck on you, even if you use your magic."

"You've tried it," he asked, giving him a side ways glance. He nodded." But maybe it only wasn't working with my magic but yours could have different effects."

His blue eyes turned away from him and looked at the cuffs on his wrist. He clenched his hands into fist before summoning his magic to them. They glowed a dark blue as his magic found it's way to his hands. The chains slowly started to grow a layer of ice over them but despite this they still didn't break apart as he pulled them.

Gareki sighed before trying to pull the cuffs apart but once again they didn't come lose."These cuffs are magic proof. They don't allow you to use your magic unless they're off of you. I can't even summon my glaive."

Yogi looked down at his hip and found that his sword was gone." They took my sword as well. How are we supposed to protect ourselves and get out of here if we don't have magic?"

He shrugged. "I've always had magic to get myself out of trouble, so you shouldn't ask me. A person who doesn't have any experience when it comes to having no magic at all." Yogi walked over to a wall, leaning his back against it before sliding down until he sat on the ground."I feel so powerless."

"Exactly, I feel regular. Like I never had magic in the first place. I don't like it," Gareki said as he looked around." Did they get that damn cat?"

"You mean Pastel." the blonde lifted an eyebrow.

"Whatever."

Yogi shook his head." I'm not sure. He did climb up before us. I don't think they saw him."

"He's probably not going to come back for us, I never trusted him." his blue eyes glared at the ground.

"Don't think that way. He's done a couple things to earn your trust. He's already trying to save your life by leading us to Jiki's and he's trying to get us out of this maze alive. That has to prove something."

Gareki huffed closing his eyes before leaning his head back against the wall. "This is a waste of time. A whole day being wasted on fighting and running. What is this all going to amount to in the end if there even is one? We might as well stop now if this is going to continue."

Yogi frowned at him. He shifted on the ground he was sitting on." Your life is on the line, Gareki. I thought you wanted to live."

"Believe me, I do." he opened his eyes and trained his blue-grey iris's on Yogi's. "But if we keep getting ourselves in these situations then how are we going to have enough time to save my life? Three days, Yogi. Three fucking days! And already one has gone to waste. . . .There's no sugar coating shit in this situation we're in," he snapped.

They both frowned at each other for a few seconds. Yogi looked away crossing his arms over his chest." I don't agree with anything that you're saying, Gareki."

"What's not to agree on? Everything I've just said to you is the truth," he said bitterly with a shrug.

"You need to stop talking like this is the end for you. "Yogi gave him a serious look and Gareki returned the same look as he swallowed." It isn't, none of what just happened is going to effect us because me and Pastel will get you your life back. So can you please stop talking like you want to give up on your life."

Gareki stared at him, face staying serious as he thought about what he said. He averted his blue eyes away from his violate ones this time. "We need to get out of here."

Yogi nodded. "Agreed."

Gareki ran his finger tips over one of the cuffs around his wrist. It was then he heard the sound of foot steps. His ears twitched up and his eyebrows creased in concentration. It sounded like more then one person was heading in their direction. He listened to the pattern of the footsteps and figured out how many were coming their way. "Be prepared, something's coming, "he warned Yogi.


	34. For His Sake

**Music Choice—Nothing More—I'll Be Ok**

 **We Live In The Rain** **A Sea Of Change**

 **You Can't Keep Anything You Take**

 **The Lovely Face Of Lives We chase**

 **Is But Dust For Wind To Take**

* * *

Gareki glared at the three human males that walked from around the corner. He eyed them carefully and it didn't take a genius to clearly realize that they were all lycans but in human form. They were dressed in clothing so it wasn't like they were naked like most lycans would be when they turned back into humans.

Yogi furrowed his eyebrows as he stared at them. A questioning look on his face." They're lycans." Gareki informed him. Yogi turned his questioning look over to him." But how?"

"They can transform," he stated.

Yogi looked back at the three lycans in human form as they walked over to the cell they were in before stopping as one of them pulled out a key and unlocked the cell door. They walked inside wordlessly. One of them stayed at the door watching Yogi and Gareki with no expression on his face." You two are coming with us," he spoke, his yellow eyes looking at Gareki, Seeing the anger in his eyes.

A deep growl left Gareki's throat as one of the lycans approached him. He reached for his arms right as Gareki quickly jerked forward biting his hand, hard. The lycan yelled in surprise as his teeth bit down harder entering his skin deeply. Blood began dripping down his bottom lip reaching his chin before falling down to the ground. His blue-grey eyes glared up hard into the lycan's yellow eyes.

Yogi sat there surprised by his sudden actions. Was he really this angry at them for approaching him? He supposed it made since. Not only because they were captured and put away in this cell but because he was part vampire and vampires and lycans never really got along. At least that's what he had read in a book back in his own realm.

Gareki growled louder as the lycan punched him in the face, hard. But he didn't let his hand go. He kept his teeth clenched into the flesh of his knuckles. He could taste the metallic blood in his mouth as some of it ended up on his tongue. The lycan growled back at him before kicking him hard in the stomach and that was when Gareki let go. He grunted as his back connected with the ground from the force of the kick not to mention the pain from it.

He felt like he was going to throw up as he felt the ache on his abdomen. He heard his name being called by Yogi's concerned voice. He slowly moved his head to look up at him ." I'm fine—"

He was shoved back down by a foot that placed itself on top of his head." You idiotic Avatar! I should kill you on the spot. But I'd rather not waist my time on you considering our queen is handling your deaths." he yanked Gareki off the ground pulling his arms over his head so he could hold him from behind. He urged him to walk as he lead him out of the cell.

Yogi glared at the lycan's back that was holding Gareki before he too was forced to put his arms behind his back and was harshly yanked to his feet by tight hands on his arms, urged to move out of the cell. He heard the door of the cell clamp shut as the third lycan closed the door after they walked out.

Yogi felt like he was back in the Ice Caste being dragged away by the guards again. He watched Gareki's back that was in front of him as the lycans forced them to walk through a walk way that led into a dome shaped cave right above an endless crack in the ground that led into a deeper and darker abyss. There was a thin bridge made out of earth that crossed to the other side. But the only problem was that it didn't have any sides to hold you up when you walked across it. Which meant if they fell, then they'd all fall into the abyss and die.

Yogi subconsciously stopped and looked at the thin walkway unsure about it. But a harsh shove in his back pushed him forward, telling him to keep moving.

"Where are you taking us," Gareki said angrily. The lycan let go of his arms before pushing him forward causing him to stumble. He caught himself before he fell. Turning his head he glowered into his yellow eyes before standing up strait again." I'm not going to walk unless you tell me where you're taking us."

"If you walk then you'll know soon enough." he grabbed Gareki's arm but he shook it off and shoved his shoulder against the lycan's chest watching as he fell to the ground." I want you to tell me, **_now,_** " he said through clenched teeth, his eyes glowing a bright blue as he stared down at the lycan dangerously.

The lycan that was walking behind Yogi came over to him and tried to restrain him again but Gareki backed away from his hands before they could grip his arms." Stay away from me," he said with warning in his voice.

The lycan on the ground got back up and went to grab him quickly but Gareki spat blood in his face. It landed on his cheek and he growled at the disrespectful action." You disrespectful bitch!"

"I dare you to say that again." he seethed. Right after the words left his mouth another punch was deliver to his face. But before he could fall over one of the lycans he had spat on grabbed him by his cuffs yanking him back before shoving him forward to the ground instead. Gareki rolled until he stopped at the edge of the abyss.

"Gareki," Yogi whispered. He watched as his blue eyes opened glaring up at two of the lycans that stood above him. One took a step forward and placed his foot on top of Gareki's chest. Pushing him closer to the edge.

Yogi's eyes widened as panic lurched to life inside his chest."Stop." he said quietly.

" I'm killing you here and now. This is for revenge against you killing our kind. Let this be your punishment and accept it!" the lycan yelled.

"I'm not excepting shit," Gareki countered.

"This is your punishment. You have no choice in this matter." the lycan pushed him further to the edge.

Yogi clenched his fist behind his back. He subconsciously felt the amulet on his chest pulse to life ever so slightly." Stop," he said a bit more loudly.

The lycan with it's foot placed on Gareki's chest turned to him. "Don't interrupt or else you'll be falling to your death as well." he turned back around and pushed Gareki further. He was almost over the edge now a bit more and then he'd be falling.

Yogi felt the pulse of his magic growing stronger as images of Gareki dying flashed into his mind. Fear of that happening lodged in his chest. He shook his head slowly eyes wide with shock. _No, I can't let this happen_. He thought as he tried to release his magic but nothing happened. The damn cuffs were still blocking it. He tried a second time. Nothing. . .

"Get your damn foot off me! he could hear Gareki's voice yell as he closed his eyes to concentrate. _Please work with me. I need your help_. He thought begging for the amulet to work it's magic. He felt it pulse stronger now. As the fear became stronger.

He could hear Gareki struggling. He opened his eyes just in time to see the lycan shove his foot and Gareki was falling into the darkness. A strong pulse of magic went through his body seeing this."NO!" his own voice yelled through out the cave echoing around them loudly. His magic mixed with the emotion of fear and released itself into that same golden light as the amulet unleashed a powerful blast of magic all around him. It broke the cuffs around his wrist as they fell to the ground.

Two of the lycans that were near the edge were shoved forward by the force of magic, falling into the abyss themselves. His magic hit the lycan that was standing behind him that had been holding his arms. Yogi free now, quickly ran to the edge and dropped to his knees looking into the darkness of the abyss. He saw no sign of Gareki only the echoing yells of the lycans he had just shoved down into the darkness."Oh no." his eyebrows furrowed worriedly.

"Oh no is right." spoke a voice. Yogi quickly turned around to see Pastel walking into the cave nonchalantly with his floating sword over his head. The cat looked at the lycan that had been impaled by a sharp edge of a rock and was dead lying against it. The cat shook his head." We need to get out of here quickly before more of them come and see this mess you made."

"Pastel," Yogi said breathlessly.

"Don't be so surprised, I only came back here to save you two. Honestly you both cannot stay out of trouble for what it's worth. I've done the job of getting you your sword back so be thankful. It wasn't easy getting my paws onto it." the cat dropped Yogi's sword at his knees." Where's your Avatar friend?"

Yogi quickly grabbed his sword and took it out of it's sheath before turning around to face the edge of the abyss and stabbed the blade into the ground." He fell down this abyss and I'm going to save him before he falls too far," he explained as he began to speak to the sword.

He gripped onto the handle of his sword with both hands intertwined as he closed his eyes leaning his forehead against the handle.

"It is I Yogi, prince of the Sun Kingdom Heir to the throne.I call apon your powers once more. But not for myself. Please save the one who is near death. Allow me your power and save his life. Please. . . "

A few seconds of silence passed before Pastel began to feel a vibration beneath his paws and looked down. Small cracks broke the surface of the hard ground. Vines broke free from the cracks and burst out of the ground all growing long and wild in front of Yogi. They went over the edge and into the abyss.

Pastel walked over to him."So you're planning on reaching him?"

Yogi with his forehead still pressed against the handle opened his eyes slowly before looking at Pastel from the corner of his eyes."I know he's still alive. So yes, this is what I'm planning on doing."

Pastel nodded before his ears picked up a thudding noise continuously hitting against the ground. But it was more then one. His ears twitched and his eyes tightened." You might want to hurry, I can hear more of them coming." Yogi tightened his hold on the sword adding more of his magic to speed things up." I'm going to need you to hold them off just in case this takes another moment."

"Alright," Pastel agreed as he turned away and faced the tunnel where he heard the footsteps running from. Blue flames appeared above his head as he prepared to fight. Lycans rounded the corner in human form. There was a group of them accurately only being 7. They all paused as they looked at the cat then Yogi who paid them no attention as he continued with his magic.

"Your fight is with me gentlemen." Pastel smiled, taking a step closer to them as they all looked down at him with disbelief on there faces that they would be fighting a cat of all things. But some of them didn't show any signs of holding back as they only wanted to get to Yogi and were eager to fight Pastel just to get to him. Three of them ran towards the cat transforming into their lycan forms as they got closer.

But Pastel stood ready as he threw three flames at them. He watched them fall back as the flames connected with them. They were slammed into the cave wall by the force of his magic hitting them. The other lycans transformed into their werewolf forms and lunged forward ready to attack. Pastel threw the rest of his flames at them. He hit two but the other two just dodged them. One of the lycans jumped for him but Pastel was quick as he formed a barrier around himself and Yogi.

He watched as the lycan slammed it's face against the shield. More of them came and scratched against it. Some of them throwing their bodies to break it. Pastel's eyes stared at them hard as he concentrated to keep the barrier up." Are you almost done," he asked with some what difficulty.

Yogi could feel that his vines had held onto something and were pulling it up." I'm almost done," he replied.

"Good."

The pounding on the barrier continued until Yogi finally Pulled Gareki's body up. Pastel allowed the barrier to pull his body inside of it before closing back up. The vines that were wrapped around his entire body like a cocoon slithered off of him going back into the ground. Gareki quickly sat up gasping for air. He wasn't injured which was a relief for Yogi

"Are you okay?"

Gareki took a moment to breath before he finally caught his breath." I thought I saw my own life flash before my eyes down there." Yogi pulled his sword out of the ground and returned it into his sheath before placing them both in the holster on his hip. "Well I'm glad you're okay. Let me see your cuffs for a second."

Gareki gave him a questioning look before seeing that his own cuffs were off. He guessed he was going to take his off as well. He turned around where his arms were cuffed behind his back.

Yogi lifted his hands." I'm not sure if this is going to work again but we'll see."

"What do you mean?" Gareki turned his head to look at him.

" I used a strong flow of my magic to get my cuffs off. But that was because I had a reason to use it. That strong magic I used before we got down here, it only works with my emotions and how I feel. That's why it came out when that lycan was about to kill me, I was scared and the same thing happened when I saw him push you down there."

Gareki blinked at him."In other words. . . you can only use that strong magic unless you have some type of strong emotion," he asked, placing the pieces together.

Yogi nodded once. "Correct. The only way to get these cuffs off of you is to use that strong magic again, but that doesn't just happen easily every time. I need an emotion to feel that'll be strong enough to break these cuffs."

"Just think of something that makes you feel a type of way. Sad, angry. . . whatever. Or you could think of me dying."

The blonde sighed as he reached forward and grabbed onto the cuffs around his wrists and focused his magic on them. Closing his eyes he thought about the most unsettling things that made him both angry and sad. But he couldn't think about Gareki dying again. That would be too much. Instead he thought about other things that had been on his mind for the past day now. Vileus. How much had he corrupted already? Was the sun Kingdom covered in darkness now? How were his sisters? Were they dead or alive? All theses questions left a sad emotion inside of him but mostly anger.

The amulet shined brightly once more as he focused that strong pulse of magic flowing through his palms. He felt the medal cuffs breaking apart as it clattered to the ground. The emotions he felt dying down as he opened his eyes to see Gareki's wrist no longer had the cuffs around them.

"Thank you," he said, rubbing his wrist as he eyed the lycans outside of the barrier continuously banging on it."I almost died and now we have to fight another bunch of lycans, This day just keeps getting better doesn't it," he said flatly in a sarcastic way. He stood up and raised one of his arms high as he opened his hand spreading his fingers apart to reveal his palm.

Yogi felt a frigid wind whirl past him as it began swirling around Gareki's body. Sudden snow flakes appeared spinning with the wind around his open palm as they formed a long black staff and a silver blade at the end. His hand closed around his glaive before twirling it with his fingers. Bringing it down in front of him before slamming it down on the ground. The blade entering the rock as he did.

"We're going to have to fight our way out of here again."

"It looks that way," Pastel said. "Both of you need to prepare yourselves. I can't hold this barrier much longer."

Yogi pointed toward the stone bridge." Something tells me we need to head in that direction. There aren't any lycans coming from that way. We have a better chance at not getting ourselves ripped to pieces if we cross it once this barrier is down."

"Agreed, that is the way we need to go in order to get to the tunnel that'll lead us out of here," Pastel informed.

Gareki eyed the bridge with a side ways stare. They would have to cross over the abyss and he definitely didn't want to fall inside of it again. But it looked like they had no other choice but to go that way. He sighed before facing Yogi." Then it's settled. We'll go that way."

Yogi nodded before pulling out his sword, the sound of the blade scratching against it's sheath as he pulled it out. He turned to look down at Pastel." We're ready. let's go."

Pastel undid the barrier.


	35. Instincts

**Music Choice—Evanescence—Sweet Sacrifice**

 **It's True We're All A little Insane**

 **But It's So Clear Now That I'm Unchained**

 **Fear Is Only In Our Minds**

 **But It's Taking Over All The Time**

* * *

The lycans all rushed for them. Pastel ran for the bridge followed by Yogi and Gareki.

Gareki stepped foot onto the bridge right after Yogi did. But as he was going to take another step he felt teeth sink onto his boot before yanked him upwards. One of the lycans had grabbed onto him. He reached out to grab onto the bridge but his hand missed it by inches.

The lycan pulled him up high, it's teeth clenching onto his foot harder. Gareki let out a yell in discomfort as the lycan moved it's head throwing his body aside and away from the bridge. His body landed on the ground hard. Kicking up dust from the ground as his back slammed against it. The lycan that had thrown him quickly ran over to him before standing over his body trying to bite but Gareki fought back but it was clear he was struggling since the lycan was right over him and was way bigger.

"No!" came Yogi's voice. He ran off the bridge. His sword glowing golden as he focused his magic into it before bringing it over his head and stabbed it into the ground. Beneath his feet he could feel the vibrations of the vines growing before breaking through the surface. They grew out of the ground long. He gave them a command and they moved rapidly towards his targets.

They wrapped themselves around the other lycans so they couldn't come for him while he was performing his commands. He watched as the vines wrapped around the lycan's legs that was standing over Gareki.

Yogi concentrated on that one lycan trying to get it away from Gareki so it could no longer hurt him like it had already done considering the bleeding scratch on Gareki's temple. he was so focused on that lycan that he failed to see one of the lycans breaking free from his vines and running right towards him.

"Look out," yelled Pastel, a blue flame appearing over his head before he threw it strait at the werewolf causing it to lose it's foot and turn. Yogi looked up just in time to see a bushy tail heading his way. He felt it connect with his body throwing him off to the side.

He rolled until he fell over the edge and into the abyss but not before stabbing his sword into the cliff wall, hanging onto it tightly as he dangled above the darkness. He stupidly took a look down and regretted it as he quickly looked back up. He had looked down it before but it was different when you were hanging right above it. And if things weren't worse his weight dragged his sword down causing him to be dragged closer to the darkness.

He pushed himself up gripping onto the edge of the cliff tightly before pulling himself up until he could rest his arm on the solid ground. He pulled his sword out of the wall and placed his other arm on the solid ground before pulling himself up again. He rolled onto his back. No longer hanging over the edge. He quickly got to his feet as he heard snapping of vines. Two of the lycans were free from the vines, advancing closer to him. He took a quick look over to Gareki who was still fighting the one on top of him. He could hold on a bit longer, hopefully. He was still struggling to get the lycan off of him.

Yogi held out his sword in front of his body ready to defend himself. They didn't have time for this. They still needed to get out of this cave before more lycans came.

Pastel threw another flame at one of the lycans walking over to him distracting it and instead of walking over to Yogi it changed direction and walked over to him instead. Which was good cause Yogi wasn't sure he could handle two of them at once since he was already trying to focus his magic on the vines to keep a tight hold on the rest of the lycans so they wouldn't get loose as well.

He just hoped both Pastel and Gareki could hold their own as he fought this one lycan then he would be able to focus more on helping them.

Yogi pulled his sword to the side as he ran forward. The lycan growled before running for him too. As soon as he got close enough it opened it's mouth wide trying to bite him but Yogi side stepped out of the way. He heard it's mouth snap shut behind him as he held out his sword and cut into one of it's front and hind legs as he ran past them.

The lycan whined out painfully before landed on it's side, not being able to stand properly. Yogi moved out of the way before it's body fell on him. He jumped on top of it's body before stabbing his sword into the lycans side before dragging the blade as he ran towards it's head. Pulling out his sword as soon as he came close to the lycans face. It cried out loudly as he made the new injury.

Yogi inhaled through his parted lips before clenching his jaw. Lifting his sword over his head once more. Both hands wrapped around the handle as he made the plunge into the lycans neck. He pushed his sword into the lycans neck deeply until the handle made contact with it's fur.

He kept the blade in it's neck until the lycan wasn't twitching. Once he saw it wasn't breathing any longer he yanked his sword out. Blood covering it. He turned to see that Pastel was still in his own fight and was holding his own well which meant he didn't need his help. He took a look over to Gareki who wasn't handling himself well as the lycan still stood over him pushing him down against the ground with it's huge paw trying to suffocate him. Making it difficult for Gareki to move his body the way he wanted it to. From the looks of things the Lycan had the advantage in the fight between them.

Yogi took a quick glance at the other lycans making sure that they were still wrapped in vines. They were. He jumped down from the dead lycan he was standing on and headed over to Gareki. Sword still held in his hand as he snuck up on the beast and stabbed it deeply in it's leg before pulling it out once he heard it bark painfully. It pulled it's paw off of Gareki allowing him to breathe and move again. It turned towards Yogi, it's yellow eyes focused on him before a growl erupted deeply from it's throat. The lycan slowly moved closer to him before lunging forward, mouth wide open preparing to kill him with a single bite.

But Yogi stepped back before he could do so. He lifted his sword back before swiping it across the lycan's nose, creating a thin line of blood. It jerked back at the piercing pain going through it's snout but that didn't stop it from lunging for him again.

Yogi felt his muscles tense as he stared hard at the lycan lunging for him. He held his sword ready in front of him preparing to use it. But before he could do so the lycan cried out painfully and Yogi heard the sound of a grunt. He looked up and saw Gareki standing on the back of the lycan's neck stabbing his glaive into it's head. His blue eyes glowing fiercely as he bared his fangs down at the beast.

The lycan cried out again as Gareki twisted the blade into it's flesh before yanking it out and plunged his blade back into it's head. He did this over and over again until the lycan shook him off. Gareki fell to the ground landing on his feet before angrily pulling back his glaive before swiping it across slicing through the lycan's front leg with a single swipe. It fell to the ground with a loud cry of pain. It body started to twitch as it whimpered. Gareki walked over to Yogi. His eyes glowing a bright blue. Yogi stood there frozen as he watched the angry Avatar move in front of him before lifting his glaive over his head and stabbed it once again through the lycan's head. He yanked it out before doing the same thing over and over again each time becoming harder and deeper then the last.

Droplets of blood splattered on Gareki's shirt and face as he continued to stab repeatedly at the lycan that kept whimpering at each receivable stab. Yogi opened his mouth to say something but words didn't come out. The lycan's eyes glazed over, clearly it was dead but Gareki kept stabbing at it like a mad man.

Yogi wrapped his arms around him from behind in an attempt to stop him but Gareki kept doing it relentlessly." Gareki, it's dead! It's dead! You don't need to keep stabbing it!"

Gareki gave him an animalistic growl shoving his elbow against him, pushing him back a step before stabbing the lycan another time." It tried to suffocate me," his voice came out through clenched teeth. He sounded so angry that his voice even sounded different to Yogi's ears.

Yogi still had a hold on him. He tightened his arms around his midsection to keep him from pulling away. "Gareki you need to stop. We don't have time for this," he urged.

"It deserves to die, how dare it try and kill me!" he tried to pull away from his strong arms and Yogi decided to let him go only to spin him around and slap him hard in the face. Gareki gave him an not so happy look from the slap but Yogi didn't care. He could glare at him all he wanted.

"So much has tried to kill you, Gareki. But I don't see you acting like a mad man trying to stab it to death repeatedly. I get it that you have vampire instincts but now is not the time to settle things with a lycan. We need to get out of here before we die. Now, would you please stop acting this way. I want the other Gareki back," Yogi said sternly as he placed a hand on his shoulder.

Gareki stared at him. His eyes turning back into their regular shade of blue. He lifted his hand and shook of Yogi's grip on his shoulder before walking past him. "Get me out of this place before I lose control over myself again." he wiped the blood from his cheek before swiping it to the ground.

Yogi agreed as they both walked over to Pastel who was sitting near another dead lycan waiting for them. Yogi was a surprised that the small cat had handled such a creature on his own. But he supposed the cat was stronger then what he looked like.

"I see you have your anger points handled," Pastel said to Gareki in a sarcastic tone. In return Gareki gave him a deep growl and Pastel's fur immediately stood on end at the harshness of it." Okay, I take it back."

"Come on you two. What happened to getting along?" Yogi walked across the bridge, making sure not to look down fearing it's dark depths.

"I never said we'd get along," Gareki said bitterly.

"Well can you two just do that for now? We have bigger things to think about then fighting with each other. Remember we're going to be traveling together for a while so it'd be best if you two don't get into anymore fights," suggested Yogi with a hopeful tone of voice.

Pastel rolled his eyes."You better pray we don't fight the entire time we travel. Because I'm telling you now, this Avatar is difficult to handle."

Gareki ignored him as they walked across the bridge. leaving behind the lycans that were still tied up.

* * *

Pastel led them both through yet another tunnel before pausing in place behind a wall of rocks with both of them coming up from behind. His green eyes gave them both a warning glance. Telling them to stay quiet as two male lycans in human form passed them. Gareki pushed his back against the wall so he could stay hidden behind the wall of rocks.

He listened carefully to their footsteps as they walked past them. But suddenly one of the footsteps stopped.

Gareki cautiously peaked around the corner to see that one of the lycans had stopped walking. It was looking around it's surroundings as if it were looking for something. . . or someone. He lifted his head up and sniffed the air before looking where the wall of rocks were. His yellow eyes squinted before slowly walking over to the wall where they were hiding. Gareki felt his body tense as his vampire instincts kicked in again causing his eyes to brighten up again. He tightly gripped onto his glaive preparing to jump out and attack the lycan once he got close enough.

He felt a hand clamp on his shoulder. His glowing blue eyes looked over to Yogi who was giving him a disapproving look. Gareki knew that look was telling him not to go and attack the lycan when he hadn't even found them yet. It was difficult but he calmed his instincts down and relaxed his tensed muscles before pushing his back against the wall again. But his hand stayed clenched around his weapon.

He could hear the footsteps getting closer to where they were. But just as the lycan was about to look around the wall the lycan he was walking with called after him.

"What are you doing?"

He paused and turned towards the other male." I thought a smelt something."

"We don't have time to be stopping what we're doing. We need to go to the cells like we were ordered to do. So come on."

". . . Fine." he took one last glance at the wall before walking after the other lycan until they were out of sight.

Gareki waited a moment before speaking." They must be wondering what happened to the other lycans that were supposed to be taking us to their queen. We need to get out of here now before they know we've escaped."

"He's right, Pastel," said Yogi turning to look at the cat." How much farther do we need to go?"

"Just up ahead there should be another path we can follow to get closer to the tunnel we need to clime up from. But we are going to have to cross another bridge."

Gareki's shoulders sunk down hearing this." Which means we have to pass another abyss?"

"Yes," Pastel replied before walking out from around the wall of rocks. Both Yogi and Gareki followed behind."It's best if we stay stealthy though considering we are in their territory and they roam around here."

"Of course," Yogi said." But how do you exactly know where we're going in this place?Everything looks the same to me."

Pastel turned to him and smiled cockily. "When I went looking for your sword I went through nearly the whole place and let's just say I have a good memory."

Gareki rolled his eyes feeling annoyed at the cats playfulness at a time like this. He concentrated on listening for any more passing lycans that would be coming their way. He held his weapon in both hands as he walked." It wouldn't surprise me if they would be guarding our exit."

Yogi turned to him." You mean the lycans?"

Gareki glanced at him." Who else? They caught us trying to escape once through that tunnel so it would be logical for them to be guarding it. Especially once they figure out we've escaped. Which I'm feeling it won't take them long to figure it out."

"Then we need to move quicker." Pastel agreed. Yogi took another step before Gareki abruptly grabbed his shoulder making all of them pause. Yogi gave him a confused look." What—

"I hear them coming," Gareki interrupted, his ears twitching." We need to hide." he pushed Yogi behind another wall of rocks and Pastel hid behind stalagmites. Gareki looked up examining the sealing before making his weapon disappear as he focused his magic into his hands. He jumped up grabbing hold of two stalactites. His magic making his hands stick to them. He focused his magic into his feet as he brought them up to stick against the sealing as well. His tail wrapped itself around one of his legs as he made himself flat as he possibly could against the sealing without being penetrated by the stalactites.

Yogi crouched down behind the wall as to not be seen as he heard more then one footsteps echoing through the hall. At first sounding far but they soon sounded loud as they came closer to where they were all hiding. The footsteps were running and he began to hear voices yelling:" They escaped, Tell the queen and find them! Block all exits I want those murderers found and killed on sight!"

"Are you sure we should kill them on sight? What if the queen wants to kill them herself, Sir?"

"She would want us to do this considering everything they've done already. Now find them!"

More footsteps passed them until the tunnel became quiet once more and the lycans were cleared out or at least that's what Yogi thought as he stood up and came face to face with a long blade pointed strait at his face. His eyes widened as he looked up into the eyes of a lycan in human form glaring at him." Drop your weapon." his voice was deep and stern. Yogi gave him a hard look but reluctantly did as told. He dropped his sword in front of him and the lycan kicked it aside out of his reach." I want you to step from around those rocks with your hands up."

Once again Yogi did as told standing right in front of him now as the blade of his knife stayed pointing at his nose. He held his hands up revealing his palms to show he had no other weapons. The lycan eyed him carefully before nodding. "You're one of those murderers. Tell me where your friend is or else you die here."

Yogi pressed his lips together into a thin line trying to contemplate how he was going to get himself out of this situation without this lycan making too much noise that would warn the others of his presence. He suddenly felt a slow cold wind pass them and he knew it was Gareki. He shook his head at the lycan." You won't kill me. "

"Oh really?" the lycan asked as if being challenged. He opened his mouth, about to call out to the other lycans that he had found one of the murderers. But he was only able to get one word out before Gareki dropped down behind him, quickly wrapping one of his arms around his neck while the other placed on his head as he put the lycan in a choke hold. The lycan struggled against Gareki's strong arms.

But Gareki didn't let him go. He only tightened his arm around his neck closing his throat so none of the air could get into his lungs.

Yogi's eyes widened in surprise not expecting him to do this. But his surprise turned into shock as a snap rung out through his ears. Gareki snapped the lycan's neck before throwing his now dead body aside to the ground. He glared down at him before crouching next to him and snatched the knife out of his hand before putting it into his pocket. He stood up again and looked at the shocked look on Yogi's face.

"What? he shrugged." It was either you or him." He defended.

"Yeah but once those lycans see we've killed another one of their kind then they're going to send even more lycans after us. They'll be relentless when it comes to killing us."

Gareki walked over and picked up his sword before handing it to him." They already want to kill us in the worse possible way, Yogi. What I just did was self defense or rather being helpful to you. So a thank you would be nice."

The blonde sighed before grabbing his sword and put it inside it's sheath." Thank you."

Gareki walked past him but not before muttering under his breath." Always the good guy."


	36. Relentless

**Music choice—30 Seconds To Mars—A Beautiful Lie**

 **Lie In bed Awake at Night**

 **And Think About Your Life**

 **Do You Want To Be Different?**

 **Try To Let Go Of The Truth**

 **The Battles Of Your Youth**

* * *

Gareki felt his heart thudding against his rib cage as the three of them finally came to a stop from the long run they had just done. He bent over and placed his hands on his knees." How much longer do we have to go on for." He looked up at Pastel as he tried to catch his breath.

Pastel sighed before turning his head to look up at him." We still have a bit further."

Yogi leaned his back against the wall as he tried to catch his breath as well." Well we can't stop now. We need to leave this place. I heard them back there. They found the body and now they're bringing more after us, just like I predicted."

Gareki 's eyes tighten as he heard him say this." This place will be surrounded with those bastards if we don't get out soon." He stood up strait. Done catching his breath." Okay, we need to move." He took a step back preparing to continue down the tunnel but felt a sharp prick in the back of his neck and immediately turned around to see two lycans in the form of humans as they both pointed long knives at him.

Gareki took a step back as he eyed the knife he was holding. His eyes moved up to his face before scowling in annoyance." Oh, great," he said flatly, clearly not happy that they had been found.

Yogi saw the two lycans before slowly reaching for the hilt of his sword. Planning on attacking if they made any sudden moves to fight Gareki. But his fingers were only able to ghost across the cold medal before a voice was heard in his ears.

"Don't even think about it." A deep voice came from behind him. He turned slightly only to see a lycan in it's werewolf form stalk towards him. It's fur appearing black in the purple light of the tunnel.

Yogi took his hand off of the handle and stared into it's red eyes as it stepped in front of him, standing way taller then his own stature. Gareki half turned his head and looked at the lycan that just so happened to appear at the right moment.

That only proved Gareki's theory that it had been following them ever since he had killed that lycan further back inside the tunnel. His blue irises stared at the werewolf from the corners of his eyes before glaring as he got the feeling of being blocked from all angles where he couldn't escape to. And he had a very strong disapproval of being surrounded. Especially for the ones that proved to be a threat to him.

"You two have caused enough trouble, you're coming with us," it spoke. "If you choose not to then we can make this situation way more difficult."

Gareki felt provoked at that moment and he felt even more agitated by these lycans. Clearly they were trying to get him angry and it sure as hell was working. His eyes stayed on the lycan's red ones as he thought of his course of actions. But it seemed like a waist of time considering he wasn't going to surrender which left one other choice and that was to defend himself. even if these lycans were mad that they had killed some of their people he didn't care because they had attacked them first.

He turned his body towards the werewolf." You can make it difficult. Cause we're not going with you." he quickly reached into his pocket flinging the knife he had stolen at the werewolf. It struck him in the eye causing him to jerk beck with a loud cry.

The other two lycans that were standing behind him lifted their knives for him reading to fight back but Gareki quickly swung his elbow back. Hitting one of them in the nose sending him falling to the ground with a thud before he kneed the other lycan in the stomach also sending that one to the ground. He turned to Yogi and Pastel." Unless you don't want yourselves to die then get a move on, now."

Pastel led the way as they all ran down the tunnel the opposite way the lycan in it's werewolf form had come from. "Well that seemed easy for you to do." Yogi pointed out to Gareki as he ran beside him.

Gareki glanced behind them. "Even if it was they're still not dead. I can hear them running after us now." Yogi looked behind them as well and he could hear the constant thudding of footsteps hitting the ground just like he had said. He turned back around." It sounds like they're getting closer."

"Exactly." his blues eyes eyed the sealing before looking at Yogi." I have an idea but I'm going to need your help."

Yogi nodded." Okay, what is it?"

"Stop for a second." Yogi did as told and they both came to stop. Pastel stopped as well before he turned to them as if they were crazy." Do you two honestly have a death wish? We are being chased by lycans, you do understand that, right?"

"I do, but after what I'm about to do they won't be chasing us for long," Gareki said as he turned and faced the way they had come from. He could hear the lycans getting closer. He held out his hand." Give me your hand, Yogi."

The blonde glanced at him confusedly but then he figured out what they were about to do. He reached his hand out and intertwined their fingers together." We're going to combine our magic again," he stated.

"Correct," he answered before lifting his hand towards the tunnel sealing." Do exactly what I'm doing now." Yogi lifted his hand, holding it up towards the sealing as well. He felt that same pulse of Gareki's magic in the air around him as they both concentrated.

Pastel eyed the tunnel. The werewolves were close. They rounded the corner all in their lycan forms and as soon as they saw Gareki and Yogi they ran faster.

Gareki creased his eyebrows as he felt the overwhelming warmth of Yogi's magic pulse through his hand and up his arm before transporting itself to his outstretched one held up towards the sealing. A red ball of magic grew from his palm and a blue one grew from Yogi's palm.

Gareki quickly glanced at the lycans as they came closer before looking back up at the burning magic in his hand." We only have one shot at this, are you ready?"

"Yes," Yogi said. They both threw the blasts watching them both collide apon impact, slamming themselves against the sealing. A strong vibration broke the sealing of the tunnel causing stalactites along with medium sized boulders to fall onto the ground, blocking the lycan's path from getting any closer to them.

Yogi dropped his hand back down to his side as he watched dust from the rocks float around before slowly falling to the ground revealing a wall of crushed boulders staring back at them. He looked at Gareki." Good planning at the last minute."

Gareki dropped his hand before lifting it up in front of his face turning it slowly from side to side. Fingers spread apart as he examined it with bewilderment." That's such a bizarre feeling." he dropped his hand back down to his side. He turned to look at Yogi before noticing their hands were still holding. He looked down at them before slowly pulling his fingers from his, letting go of his hand entirely causing the magical bond between them to break, and they began to feel their own magic instead of each others.

Gareki took a step back as he felt that same emotion of admiration towards the blonde once again. He didn't know what had caused him to suddenly feel this way at a time like this but he decided to ignore it as he looked any where but at Yogi." We should go."

Yogi agreed as he watched Gareki walk away from him, Pastel leading him the rest of the way through the tunnel. He felt slightly confused as to why Gareki had avoided eye contact with him but he figured it was best not to think about it at a time like this where he should focus on getting out of this place alive.

All three of them finally saw the tunnel ending revealing a cliff that showed the bridge they needed to cross in order to get to the hole to climb. They all stopped at the cliff. Gareki looked down and saw that it was a some what high jump but he could make it down without a problem and Yogi could to, if he did it correctly anyway.

"We only have to cross this bridge and then we can get our so called freedom." Pastel smiled. Yogi walked next to Gareki looking at the some what far way down as well." We're almost there, Gareki. Do you still want to give up on living?"

The Avatar crossed his arms in thought before answering,"No, might as well not since we're so close to getting out of here. But that still doesn't change anything. We're still going to be faced with more dilemmas the further this journey goes."

"Are you saying you're going to end your life once another dilemma like this happens to us?" Yogi creased his eyebrows bothered by this assumption. Gareki turned his head to look at him." No, I'm saying this world never has anything easy to offer. There's always going to be some kind of trouble on our way."

They both stared at each other not being able to read each other's expressions as there wasn't one to show.

Yogi suddenly heard a wooshing sound. He looked up just in time to see an arrow with a blue blast of magic flying strait at them before hitting the cliff wall above them. As soon as it made contact an explosion went off behind them a strong force push them all off the cliff and they fell towards the ground.

Gareki rolled to a stop ending up on his front side laying flat on the ground before he moved his arms and pushed himself up feeling small rocks from the explosion hit him before falling. He looked in front of himself and saw the bridge but once he looked further up there was another cliff with lycans in their human forms pointing arrows with balls of electrical energy forming in front of them. Gareki clenched his jaw at the new dilemma in front of him.

He couldn't run on the bridge without them shooting at him. And if they happened to hit the bridge with that strong explosion then obviously it would fall. A second time in an abyss wasn't going to be lucky like the first where Yogi had saved him. They would all be too focused on when the next explosion would be thrown at them.

"Oh, So they have the upper advantage?" Pastel stood up and eyed the lycans as they surrounded them on the tall cliffs all forming in a circle side by side all around them, pointing arrows strait down targeting to where they were standing.

Gareki clenched the ground bringing one leg up so he was kneeling over it." Let them have the upper advantage but we'll still get out of here."

Yogi slowly got back up to his feet luckily not having anything broken from the fall. He looked up and saw the arrows all pointing at them. But what he wanted to know was what caused that explosion just now? He turned to Gareki asking him this.

"Apparently these lycans have magical powers. But I don't think they have in werewolf form."

Yogi turned back to the lycans seeing a women standing with them. Yogi squinted his eyes curiously at her." Who is that?"

Gareki studied her seeing the dress she was wearing was a silhouette down to the floor as her brown hair flowed down her back, her eyes staring down at them sternly with purple irises. Gareki sensed something about her that obviously told him she was of big importance.". . . That's their queen."

Yogi eyed her. She did look like one. She stood ominous along with the men of her so called kingdom or maybe it was a pack in her point of view. She was pretty but definitely not the pleasant type who wanted a man at her side. She was more dour then anything. The men around her all paused with their arrows as if waiting for a command from her.

She took a step forward crossing her arms." My name is Alusia, I give order here and what you have done is unforgivable and evil. I don't give much appreciation for those who trespass in our territory and then kill our kind. So in return let this be your death day." she lifted her hand and that was a signal for the arrows to be fired.

Yogi's eyes widened before he quickly held his hands out forming a shield around the three of them. The arrows hit against it, exploding with contact. Each explosion being stronger then the last. He clenched his fist trying to hold the shield and keep it from breaking but he didn't know how much more of this he could take.

Gareki sighed, his breath turning into a cold steam he as he placed his hand flat on the ground summoning his magic to his palm. He felt the ground freeze away beneath his fingers as ice covered it. He took a glance at Yogi and it was clear he wasn't going to be holding on much longer with his shield. He turned back towards the ground again before standing up. The ground beneath him a floor of ice. He hadn't tried this spell in a while but now would be a good time.

"Let down the shield."

Yogi glanced at him before turning back to his shield." Are you crazy? They're going to blow you up once you step out of here."

"I can manage. Now let me out." his voice sounded like he wasn't in the mood for argument. Yogi reluctantly did as told letting the shield get smaller so it only fit Pastel and himself.

Gareki looked up and saw the arrows heading strait for him as soon as the shield had gone right through him. He brought up his hands, closing his eyes he focused on the movements of every single arrow heading his way. Time stilled into a slow movement around him as he placed his feet on the ice below him in a ready stance. Bringing his hands closer to his face as he formed hand symbols. The ice beneath him shifted, turning into small sharp darts protruding through the surface.

Time around him went fast again and just as the arrows were heading his way. He snapped his eyes open pushing his arms out and allowed the ice darts to wiz past him in a quick flurry. They connected with almost every arrow. The ice darts itself covered the arrows entirely before dragging them down to the ground as the ice was too heavy for them to fly.

For the arrows that didn't get hit with ice, they headed strait for him but he acted quickly as his glaive formed in his hands. He twirled it in a fast circle allowing a winter wind to blow against the arrows. Blowing them back and against the cliff the lycans were on. The arrows exploded dragging down one part of the cliff and lycans to their deaths as they fell into the abyss down below. Their voices screaming echoed against the cave walls. He stopped spinning his glaive.

Alusia wasn't happy about any of it but she still had a whole group of lycans pointing arrows at them.

" I see that you're strong but can you handle more?"Gareki furrowed his eyebrows figuring that she was challenging him. As if on cue more lycans showed up. They transformed into werewolves standing tall, overbearing and bulky. Three jumped over the abyss over to the cliff he was on without falling inside of it before their paws slammed against the ground creating cracks as they slowly advanced toward him growling deeply.

Gareki was bit taken aback by the powerful jump they had just done just to get over to him but he stood ready. In the corner of his eye he saw Yogi drop his shield before pulling out his sword preparing to help him fight.

Gareki looked up again and saw more arrows being pointed at him before hurling strait for him. He back flipped out of the way before they could penetrate him. Instead they stuck into the ground exploding the places he had flipped from. He dropped to his feet looking up to see Yogi fighting against two of the lycans with Pastel's help.

He looked to his right and saw the lycan heading strait for him. He held up his glaive side ways and the lycan's mouth clamped onto it pushing against him. But Gareki pushed back before the lycan could bite into his face. He pushed with all his strength against the lycan as it snarled. The lycan was way bigger then him so it was only logical that it would have more strength. His boots slid back against the ground as he continued to push. The lycan clamped it's mouth around his glaive snatching it from his grasp before throwing it aside and lunged for Gareki again who fell on his butt trying to get away from it's sharp fangs snapping at his face.

He scooted back against the ground trying to create distance between them but the lycan kept coming for him. His hand settled on a palm sized rock and he picked it up before bashing it into the lycans mouth creating a distraction as he quickly moved to his feet. He spotted a cliff wall and climbed it, thinking of his next course of action as he did. He reached the center of the cliff high enough so the lycan couldn't reach him.

The rock he'd shoved into it's mouth fell to the ground as the lycan finally got it out. It's silver eyes found him before glaring up into his blue-grey slits lunging for him again but couldn't reach. Gareki scoured the ground looking for his glaive he found it and luckily it was within his summoning distance. He reached out his hand and focused on his weapon. On the ground it began twitching ever so slightly before lifting away from the ground and flung over to his outstretched hand. He gripped it before grabbing it with both of his hands jumping away from the wall as he placed the blade end downward. He fell onto the lycan's back below, penetrating it's neck deeply.

This time Gareki controlled his vampire instincts as he fought to stay on the lycan's back as it tried to shove him off by shacking it's body." Gareki look out," Yelled Yogi. An arrow came flying towards him. Gareki didn't have time to stop it. All he could do was wait for it to explode when it hit him. It came closer to his face but suddenly a golden blast hit it making it explode.

The force from the explosion threw his body and the lycan's aside. Gareki fell to the ground sliding on his back before coming to a stop, his weapon dropping onto the ground next to him.

Yogi dropped his hand down to his side as he stared at Gareki's unmoving body wondering if he was okay. He had felt lucky that he had thrown his magic to stop the arrow that could've done a lot worse with contact with his body but now he was wondering if him interfering had helped Gareki at all?

He turned around lifting his sword from the ground as his vines wrapped themselves around the lycan's bodies until they could no longer move. He lifted his hand concentrating as he formed a shield around himself from the arrows still shooting down at them.

"We need to get your Avatar friend out of here before we never get to escape," Pastel urged. Yogi nodded before running over to Gareki. The lycan that was laying near him got up before walking up to him. it teeth bared as it was going to end his life then and there. Yogi gripped onto his sword with both hands as he dragged it against the ground. The blade brightening golden as his magic flowed through it." Get away from him!" he flung his sword forward still holding onto it as the golden light flashed and flew through the air heading strait for the lycan before cutting right into him the force of the blast throwing it off it's feet and away from Gareki.

The glow of his sword dimmed down until it no longer had the golden light coming from it. He placed it into it's sheath before kneeling down to Gareki. He placed his hand behind his back lifting him up slightly." Gareki get up we need to leave!"

There was the sound of arrows exploding against his shield. Yogi turned around to see more lycans were coming from the top cliff. He turned back to Gareki who opened his eyes blinking a few times before things came into focus again. He sat up." What just happened to me?"

"You passed out for a few seconds," Pastel informed." Now hurry and get yourself up. We're going to die if we stay here any longer." The sound of thudding came from the lycans that landed on the cliff they were on before running over to them.

Gareki quickly pushed himself up to his feet, grabbing his glaive before they followed Pastel onto the thin bridge. Running fast without looking down. Yogi tailed behind and looked back as the lycans ran onto the bridge after them. He turned around looking ahead, they still had a distance away before the bridge ended.

Suddenly the sound of wooshing zipped past his ear and he knew they were throwing arrows at them still. He only hoped they wouldn't hit the bridge but as if on cue he heard a loud crashing behind him sounding as if rocks had just fallen from a tall mountain as the sound of it reverberated against the echoing cave. He felt the vibrations of the bridge breaking apart behind him. He looked behind himself and saw that the lycans that were running after them had falling into the abyss and the bridge was breaking away right after each step he made.

"We need to run faster! It's breaking!"

Gareki looked back at him." We'er running as fast as we—Yogi!"

The bridge beneath Yogi's feet broke away completely before stopping and he fell but not before Gareki dropped down to his stomach and gripped his wrist before he was out of reach. Yogi felt his heart beating quickly in his chest at the thought of falling into the darkness, he didn't dare look down.

Gareki stared down at him both of their hands gripping onto each other's wrists." I got you!" he breathed. His other hand placed on what was left of the bridge to keep himself from falling over the edge as well. Arrows whizzed past Gareki's ears.

"Oh no," Yogi said as they tried to shoot at Gareki who almost slipped off the edge but caught himself quickly. He tried pulling him only able to get Yogi's chest above the bridge before he scooted back allowing the blonde to pull himself up the rest of the way. He breathed in half relief glad that he hadn't fell but not glad that they were being shot at." Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet. Thank me once we get our asses out of here." Gareki picked himself up before running where Pastel was waiting for them. Yogi ran after him but right as he left the bridge and nearly rounded the corner of the cliff wall he felt something sharp sink into his back shoulder. He hissed painfully jerking forward before reaching back and yanked the dart out before throwing it to the ground. Feeling only a little bit of it's poison sink into his skin. He continued to run after Gareki and Pastel.


	37. The Seed Of Love

**Music Choice—Kids And Chemicals—Fog**

* * *

The exit was near. Yogi could smell the fresh air as he climbed higher towards the surface. He could see a faint glow of colors knowing that it belonged to the vegetation. It was night time, they had been in the lycan's cave for a while and no doubt just like Gareki had said definitely had wasted a day. He reached his arm up, grabbing onto a rock after Gareki pulled himself up all the way to the surface. He gripped onto it tightly as he pulled his upper body over the surface.

Lifting his foot, he dug the tip of his boot into a small hollowness to push himself up further but the soil beneath it broke away causing him to lose his balance and fall.

Gareki quickly dropped flat onto his stomach once more and grabbed onto both his wrists before he was out of reach and yanked him back up. He dragged him away from the hole before dropping him. Yogi's front landed on the ground in a not so gentle way but he was thankful anyway that Gareki had assisted with helping him.

There wasn't any chance he would want to go back down there where the lycans were sure to be waiting to kill him brutally with their arrows. Gareki stood back up before taking a few steps back as Yogi pushed himself up onto his feet. Dusting himself off.

"Good, we made it out of there." Yogi tucked his amulet underneath his button up. He glanced at Gareki." Now I can say thank you."

Gareki gave him a small look of confusion wondering why he said "Now I can say." But then he remembered saving him from falling down into the abyss and figured that was why. "Same goes to you." He offered back.

Between the space of Yogi's eyebrows they creased perplexedly as he wondered what Gareki could be thanking him for. Had he done anything to be given gratitude? But then he thought about saving his life and the words he had spoken to him about living onward. That had impacted him. It was good which meant that he had learned his lesson to not give in to the dilemma's they would face.

He nodded his head saying a you're welcome before looking up at their new surroundings. Although everything else was new to his eyes the only thing that was the same was the stone walls but they appeared to be more spacious and allowed more of the moss to grow into a trail leading into directions the walls led them to grow.

This part of the maze seemed to of had more beauty to it and lots more trees. Along with the first sight of animals and insects that clearly claimed this place as a habitation. They glowed translucent with the world around them as if they were ghosts but were outlined with specific color. They were all unique species but none of them surprised Yogi as much anymore. The moonlight from the sealing protruded into the large cave making the glowing vegetation and wild life glimmer against it's rays.

He found it bizarre that a place like this could be deadly but yet beautiful all at once with so many species of either mythical creatures or humans. But he supposed it went well with how this world worked considering he had seen many more outrageous things in all the days he had been here that it just seemed normal now to look at a large lizard with magenta skin and pink specks alining it's back as it matched the dark magenta leaf bushes.

Now that he examined his surroundings he noticed that over all this part of the maze sported more colors then the other section they had been in before the incident with the lycans. Dark blues, magenta's, yellows, purples, pinks and glowing greens was all neon making things brighter and . . . amazingly unique. But this was what made the Arcial Realm special and far more magical then any other realm he knew of. Which he didn't know that many so this had to be the first.

He turned around in a circle as he looked up at the cave sealing where stalactites glimmered with that same aqua bluish green color."So what part of the maze are we in now?" violate eyes found the cat.

"And why are there so many animals around here," Gareki added as he fanned away a big fiery beetle buzzing around his head. He slapped it dead but not without getting red slime on his fingers. He flicked his hand causing the slime to smack against the stone wall with a wet sound."Disgusting." He whispered as he decided to keep his glaive out just in case any more of those pests showed up.

Pastel patted forward down the trail of moss that glowed every time he took a step onto it. Both Gareki and Yogi followed from behind." We've reached the Ever Grove. Though I don't remember all these Spiritual Beasts being here." he eyed a glowing red foxen as it bounded away from their presence." he turned to looked at both Gareki and Yogi, green eyes shining from the neon glow. They must have transported themselves here from the Spiritual Ark for a new home, which isn't good because now they're going to claim this land and try to defend it from intruders."

Gareki's eyebrows furrowed troubled by this." So they're homogeneous to Nether Beasts then?"

"They do have a similarity of guarding things that they claim, so yes they are like Nether Beasts." Yogi gave Gareki a confused look." Nether Beasts?"

He nodded once averting his eyes away from Pastel to look up at him." Yeah. Remember that time when we were in lumines Forest and that giant frog attacked us?"

He nodded." Yeah. Why?"

"Well that was a Nether Beast. They're giant creatures who come in a variety of mythical species of animals. They protect the territories they live in and they'll attack any intruder who crosses through it, except each other."

Yogi acknowledged this thinking about the way that frog wanted them dead even though they hadn't done anything harmful to it that caused it to rampage. Nether Beast and Spiritual Beast were similar now that he understood what they were. But something about the spiritual beasts seemed to spark curiosity inside him. Pastel had mentioned a Spiritual Ark. He wondered if that was another realm. It had to be. He asked Pastel.

Pastel nodded." It's sort of a Heaven but for Spiritual Beasts. It's where they are born from but do not habitat in. They cross the borders of the heaven gates and come to the Arcial Realm to find permanent homes."

"They're from heaven?" Gareki asked.

Pastel nodded once more.

"Fascinating." Yogi whispered. But if these beasts were going to be a threat the thought of that was a lot more pleasant sounding then lycans. He'd rather face one of these creatures instead of those vicious half lycanthropes.

But he knew he was being ignorant about it. He didn't know what kind of abilities these Spiritual Beasts had and maybe they were stronger then lycans and could do serious damage despite their innocent looks of beauty."Do you know if they're powerful." he decided to ask Pastel.

"I do not know what abilities or physical strengths they have but it'd be best if we all stand clear of them."

Yogi agreed.

"But even though I'm saying this you two are like magnets for trouble." He said it like it was a problem. Gareki surprisingly didn't feel himself taking offense to his words as he kept his mouth shut admitting to himself that they were magnets for trouble. He silently agreed with the feline.

But suddenly thoughts occurred to him that they were just following a cat in a random direction without instruction of where they were going. Of course he knew were their next location was but he meant in direction wise. For all he knew the damn cat was taking them somewhere else that they'd end up being killed. He stopped in his tracks as Yogi walked past him before stopping giving him a look of small concern.

"Where are we headed?" His voice spoke before Yogi could ask him a self assuring question. Pastel stopped and turned around examining them both up and down slowly. "Well if you two haven't noticed you look like utter shit."

Gareki looked down at his clothes just now noticing the glimmer of blood. It was on his arms too. Yogi looked down at himself as well noticing his shirt was even more ripped and blood stained then before. He thought to himself how hadn't he noticed this sooner? He glanced at Gareki who apparently looked as if he were thinking the same thing.

He was an Avatar who drank blood to live so it was odd that he hadn't noticed sooner. But Yogi guessed he must have been too wrapped up in the moment of fighting and running away from the lycans to notice his appearance.

Gareki heaved a sigh before stretching his arms behind his neck." Whatever, it's just blood. I'm just glad we made it out of that lycan cave, alive."

"So what if it's just blood, we still need to get you two cleaned up or else you're going to be reeking of it for the rest of the trip."

Gareki sighed." I don't mind the smell of blood. I don't know about you two but it'll smell fine to me."

Pastel shook his head before turning around again." You Avatars."

Now Gareki took a slight offense to his words." It's not my fault I come from a long line of vampires. I was made this way so you're just going to have to deal with it. Be glad it's not your blood staining my shirt."

" I don't care if you came from a long line of those blood suckers. I'm leading you two where there's a river so you can clean yourselves up."

Both Gareki and Yogi froze and gave the cat wary looks." Wait Pastel," said Yogi carefully as he crossed his arms over his chest." We need to clarify some things first." the cat stopped and once again turned to face them. He saw the looks on their faces.

"You want to ask questions about it." He stated. "You two don't trust that I'm taking you to a regular river don't you?" he sounded offended.

"Well what do you expect?" Gareki shrugged, before crossing his arms over his chest as well." How are we supposed to trust you when the last time I ended up being possessed by some water lizard and nearly killed Yogi. You didn't even bother telling us that the waterfall was a dream pool let alone that it was some one else's property."

"Is it so wrong that I forgot to tell you?" he defended himself.

"Yes!" Gareki emphasized." I don't understand how it wouldn't be. We could have died and then you'd be stuck down here."

Pastel's eyes tightened before he huffed." I already said my apologizes and the only thing now I can do is lead you to the river where you can see for yourselves it's safe. I already know you two aren't going to believe me when I say it is."

Gareki kept his wary stare on him before reluctantly going through with it.

"Fine. Take us to it." He gestured with his hand in the direction they were heading in before dropping it down slapping it to his thigh. Pastel turned and led them further into the maze. The walk was quiet as they followed him, only the sound of their footsteps were heard. They didn't come across any Spiritual Beasts but they did come across more fiery beetles flying in a swarm.

They had to stop and fight all of them off. There were many of them nipping at their skin with burning bites that felt like small burns stabbing at them. The fiery beetles were persistent but were finally all killed.

Both Gareki and Yogi had small red marks where the beetles had bitten them while Pastel's fur protected him from getting bitten. Yogi asked if they would heal and if they were poisonous. Gareki insured him that they weren't and would heal in the next day if he didn't scratch them which would be hard because they were itchy like hell.

He had experience with beetles like this before so he understood how to treat them and that was with water. Now they were urging Pastel to take them to the river past the point of caring if it belonged to another water lizard or not.

Pastel gave them a cocky reply in which Gareki felt like killing him for real this time. Pastel must of caught on to the angry glare his blue eyes were giving him before quickly agreeing to hurry and take them to the river.

Gareki still felt like he couldn't trust Pastel, even if he had helped them. A small—very small part of him wanted to trust the cat but his Avatarian instincts always told him to never trust the things around him. That was how it had been ever since the day his father died. Nothing left but a cold feeling of hatred for those who deceived in the end. The stinging itch of his skin was dulled down as he no longer paid attention to the world around him. His mind being sucked into somewhere else. Some where far off. Left in his memories and emotions.

He had told himself to never show his emotions a long, long time ago. But that was what he had done with Yogi. The blonde awoke something inside of him that he hadn't thought would ever rise up in his soul. What was left of it, anyway. He had questioned it before, the emotion. The admiration he felt for the so called prince of the Sun Kingdom. Every word he said was like. . .inspiration taking a hard impact on him. What an influence he had on him to become better.

He was supposed to be cold, relentless, harsh. But that had changed. Back in Laisra he admitted to himself he cared about Yogi but care turned into admiration, so what was that going to turn into next? Trust? Did he trust him after everything they had been through? He wasn't sure if he could bring himself to trust.

The death of his father was a heavy burden on his shoulders that he could never forget even if it had been all those years ago. Trust wasn't in his vocabulary. Wasn't something that was easy to come by inside of him. He had been deceived by that very feeling and he was only afraid to be deceived again.

 _But he saved you. He forgave you. He cares about you. He wouldn't hurt you. . ._ Spoke his conscience. Gareki didn't know what to choose so instead he chose. . . "for now". For now meant he would trust Yogi until he did something that didn't deserve it. But when this journey was over then his trust could be put to rest and Yogi would be gone forever. That was his decision.

He hadn't thought he'd put that reliability on someone in a very long time but he had done it on none other than an Outsider. A human.

Yogi wasn't an evil Outsider like the ones that stole and killed. He was an Outsider who was good and was a human who was only able to have magical abilities because of the amulet around his neck. That was what Gareki had gathered after their time spent together. He had been through a lot and was still going that was what Gaareki found so admiring about him. He looked at Yogi with a quick expression of respect before turning it back into his blank look.

He stared at him from the corner of his eyes noticing under the bites his skin appeared paler then it's sun kissed tone. His eyes roamed up to his face looking at the some what weak look he gave. Concern edged itself inside his mind.

Was he okay? He looked tired. Then again he felt tired too but Yogi looked even more so. He turned back around minding himself as another moment of walking passed before they finally reached the slow moving river. It sparkled against the moonlight and neon colors of the Ever Grove.

"Here we are." Pastel neared the bank turning to them. Gareki didn't recall a time where he took off his shirt so fast. He dropped it as well as his boots to the ground before going for his pants. He caught a glimpse of Yogi and how he leaned forward lazily before dropping down to the ground face first, not moving.

"Yogi?" he asked, dropping his hands away from the hem of his black slim jeans. Quickly kneeling down next to him before placing a hand on his back shoulder. He shook him but he didn't move. He placed both his hands onto both his shoulders about to turn him around but one of his hands slid over the left of his back shoulder and felt a protrusion. It was small and firm.

Pastel came over and gave him a concerned look. "What's wrong with him?" the question floated into the air unanswered as Gareki stayed focused on Yogi. He paused as he slid his hand slowly over the bump again. He pushed Yogi onto his back and ripped his shirt open revealing his bare chest, stomach and the amulet sitting on his chest. His hands stripped him of the shirt completely before turning him onto his side so he could see the bump. It was pale purple and leaked a darker purple substance.

Gareki stared at it before a serious look crossed his face."Shit, he's been poisoned." he laid his body back onto his front side making sure his head wasn't in the ground.

"By what?" Pastel asked.

Once again Gareki left his question floating in the air as he thought hard. The protrusion had a small hole in the center which meant something had penetrated his skin. Darts. That had to be it.

"Can you answer my question so I can help him? You do want him alive , right?"

"Yes, I do. He's been poisioned by a dart. Obviously by a lycan." he paused to check his pulse before adding, " His heart is still beating so he's alive. For now."

Pastel climbed onto his shoulder and looked at the purple bump." Yes he's going to need herbs for this and luckily we have some around here but it'll take me a bit to get them."

"What if I helped you." Gareki insisted.

Pastel shook his head." No it'd be best if you stayed here with him and try to clean his clothing and body so he doesn't suffer from those fiery beetle bites. I'll go alone and retrieve them since I'm more stealthy."

Gareki lifted an eyebrow taking offense to his words again. Was this cat really telling him that he was the one who wasn't stealthy. He let it slide but only because he needed to care for Yogi." Okay, you go then and hurry up." he urged.

The cat hoped onto a wall and ran on top of it in the opposite direction getting farther and farther away until out of sight. All the while Gareki started to strip Yogi of his clothing being sure to leave his underwear on as he poured water on his skin after he had given himself a washing to stop the insane itching of his own skin. He then started to clean their clothing the water automatically washing away the blood making the fabric of their clothes look brand knew except for a few rips on the shoulder part of Yogi's shirt.

Gareki then hung them on top of the wall to dry. He sat down cross legged by Yogi. Both of them being half naked but he didn't take much notice of it he stayed focused on the important things. He eyed the purple bump on his shoulder. It was bigger then any bump he had seen in his life time and looked worse from the first sight of it.

But at least his heart was still beating. Gareki eyed his chest before slowly picking up the half amulet. He ran his thumb over half the red jewel in the center of the heavy medal. He wondered what would happen to Yogi if he didn't have this around his neck? He would probably be a regular human but with no magical ability.

Gareki dropped the amulet back down to his chest. He sat there staring at the water waiting and listening to the sound of Yogi breathing.

There had been care, admiration, and now trust so what was next?

. . . _.Love_. . . .

Gareki clenched the dirt beneath his hands. His conscience spoke again but unexpectedly. That word. . . love? How could he possibly have a feeling like that towards him?! It was an outrageous thought. It wasn't meant to be. But even if he denied it he was slowly feeling something swell within his chest as he stared at the blonde. He ignored the feeling but the emotion planted itself there in his heart. Growing for the future days to come.


	38. Kiridian Gem

Gareki placed the blade of his weapon into the cool water watching as more blood drifted away, flowing down the stream. He placed it onto the ground next to his boots before picking up Yogi's sword and placed it into the water. More blood washed off of it. He placed it onto the ground by his glaive before standing up looking around the bank for a rock.

He scoured the ground and eventually found one. Picking it up he sat back down where their weapons were and picked up his glaive before running the rock across the blade to sharpen it. He repeated this, breaking the silence around him as he listened to the constant cutting sound. He did this for a few minutes finally done before placing it back onto the ground next to him.

He reached his hand out preparing to grab Yogi's sword but suddenly he heard a shifting sound. His head snapped towards where Yogi laid on his back. His eyes peered at the rise and fall of his chest before slowly moving up to his face. He had a troubled look crossing over his features as if he were in a bad dream.

Gareki retreated his hand away from the sword before ditching the rock on the ground as he walked over to him crouching down before placing a slow hand over his chest directly over his heart. His skin was warm but that didn't surprise him considering Yogi was from a place clearly named the Sun Kingdom. He felt the slow thudding of his heart before pulling his palm away from his chest but not his finger tips. He kept them lightly placed as he dragged them upwards gracing his finger tips the rest of the way up his chest sliding up his neck before reaching his jaw line and that was when he pulled it away.

He scrutinized Yogi's face closely. Watching as his eyebrows furrowed twitching ever so slightly. Was he having a bad dream?

Yes. . . his actions seemed apparent that he was having one. It had to be the poison taking further affect. Gareki placed both his hands on his own knees before balling them into fist. What the hell had those lycans poisoned Yogi with? When had they done it? He contemplated down at his hands as he thought about when this could have happened.

Yogi was obviously by his side fighting the whole time. It didn't appear that he had been shot with a dart at all. But still the darts took some time to take affect so it didn't much matter if it looked like he didn't. He had been in his own fights with the lycans so it wasn't like he could watch Yogi the whole time and it probably had happened during that period. Then again, when they were leaving, plenty of arrows were being thrown at them in order to keep them from escaping. The lycans had clearly blown a dart Yogi's way while they crossed the bridge or maybe some where after they crossed the bridge they had hit him with it. Either of those could be accurate. But it could've happened at any point.

His eyes squinted trying to think of all the poisons he had learned about over the many years of his life time. Two were likely to be the culprits that were affecting Yogi now. But which one?

One was the poison that made you sickly pale and have a fever while unconscious soon bringing you to your death. It normally started near the heart and important intestines.

The second was the one that effected the brain and made the body break out in a sweat. It caused you to dream things you didn't want to happen. It was dangerous if the poison reached the heart but luckily it was a slow process.

He thought about them both and had to go with the second one. That one seemed to be the most precise. Yogi appeared to be having some kid of nightmare. So he had been right to choose that one. He admitted to himself that he hoped Yogi would hold on a bit longer and hopefully the poison hadn't taken over his heart yet. Pastel had been gone for an hour and still hadn't returned.

He was beginning to feel impatient. If there wasn't anything more in this world that he hated it had to be patience. He was a prince he was used to getting things the way he wanted them to be ASAP. So this whole waiting thing was sort of new to him. He wondered if it had been this way when Yogi was helping him come back to life. Pastel being slow. But he tried not to blame it on him too much, this maze was pretty big.

He went back over to the bank and sat down, crossing his legs before staring at the water silently. The moon light shining down on his skin making it look paler. He closed his eyes listening to the water moving and Yogi's breathing.

Two more days. Two more days to make it to Jiki's cave and then all of this rushing would be over along with the fear he had of dying. That fear had been inside him for a very long time. He almost didn't remember why he feared death, but he recalled it—just barely. From the time he had been born he had witnessed the slaughter of the people in his kingdom. Most died that day of war but others thankfully survived. The Ice Castle, his home had been fighting with the vangaurds about land owning reasons and they disagreed with what his mother and father had tried to issue with them. His parents wanted them to stay away after they heard about them killing our kind in the Lumines Forest on a hunt. Not just one but a whole group of us. His parents were never happy when it came to death with our own people. They despised it more then anything and there was hatred for the culprits who would dare kill us.

A war between us started leaving death and destruction in it's path.

He remembered some of the vanguards had made it into the Ice Castle after all the guards were too busy trying to fight their side off. They kidnapped and snuck my young body away and took me to their own kingdom where a bunch more children from my kingdom had been taken as well to be hung up right in front of their people.

Since I was the heir to the throne they had used me as a special punishment. The word rape seamed harmless but once it was actually about to happen to you then it became something so much more to fear. I remembered being tide, the smug grin on their kings face, the wicked eyes he peered down at my body with. I was only 9 years old at that time so the fear inside of me was stronger than ever. I remembered fighting, struggling doing everything I could to get away from him. The beating for doing this was intense and I was so close to death I could taste it from the blood in my mouth. I didn't get raped but It was so close to happening to me.

But I was fortunate enough that guards from my castle had come and saved me before any thing bad could fully happen. Most of the children from my kingdom hadn't been so lucky. It took me a long time to be comfortable with people touching me after that event happened. But that had been a very, very long time ago. I wasn't afraid of physical contact anymore but I was afraid of dying in the way the vanguards kings had treated me.

Eyes grew heavy as he slowly opened them. He turned to Yogi seeing he was still breathing. He turned back around picking up his glaive and sat it across on his lap. He looked down at it, sliding his fingers over the long silver blade. Eyeing it's sharp curves. It was cold to the touch. One of his hands gripped around the black staff trying to feel it's frigid cold to wake him up. It had worked for a minute or so but then his eyes lowered, struggling to stay open.

"I need to stay awake." he whispered as he opened his eyes wider but they dragged down once again. He saw the water rippling in front of him as the waves dragged on down the stream. The moonlight making it brighter. It was a distraction but even that didn't keep him awake as his eyes closed making him fall asleep instantly.

"Sleeping on the job are we?" said a familiar voice. Gareki snapped his eyes open and jerked upwards throwing Pastel off his chest. He held his glaive out protectively but noticing it was only Pastel he lowered it down.

"I could have killed you." He stated in a serious voice making it clear that he always had his guard up.

The cat sighed." I can see that. Remind me never to wake you up again." he hopped over him stepping towards Yogi. Gareki glanced over to the blonde just now realizing he had fallen asleep. But he had thought he stayed awake? He sighed in disappointment at himself for not watching Yogi fully.

"Is he okay?" he asked making his weapon disappear. feeling as though he didn't need it.

"Yes, he is fine. . . luckily."

Gareki noticed the stack of plants he had seen around the maze while they were walking. Pastel must have brought them. It was a lot, no wonder the cat had been gone for so long. Speaking of so long, he noticed it was morning—the second day to travel to Jiki's cave. Pastel had said they were close so he hoped they wouldn't step into anymore trouble. But he knew that was going to happen sooner or later.

"When did you get here?" he stood up and walked over to the stone wall where he hung Yogi's and his clothing. He picked up his pants and pulled them on.

"I actually just got here. These plants weren't easy to grasp as you can tell it took me a long time to get here."

Gareki couldn't help but roll his eyes at that, he had thought the cat was in danger half the time." Yeah, I know." he zipped up his pants before going for his shirt." Did you find everything?" he wasn't sure why he was asking since he had a whole stack.

"Yes, I'm going to need you to mash these up. It may look like a lot but you'd be surprised by how little this'll look once it's grounded up."

He nodded as he buttoned up his shirt." Alright."

Pastel passed him a bowl made out of the remains of a fruit. Gareki found a rock and started smashing plants into it. His eyes stayed on Yogi wondering if his heart had been effected yet. But he was still breathing which gave him reassurance that it hadn't.

"How did things go while I was gone? You got yourself into any trouble?" Pastel asked in an attempt to make conversation despite them both not being very fond of each other. Gareki's eyes averted over to him.

"It was quiet." was all he said in response before his eyes went back to watching Yogi. Pastel noticed this and inwardly smiled at the way the Avatar stared at him." You're keeping a good eye on him," he said smugly.

Gareki moved his eyes over to him." How did you get down here?" he pointed the subject towards him. He had been wondering that ever since Yogi had told him the deal of helping him back up onto the surface. "It strikes me as odd that you just so happened to end up down here."

Pastel squinted at him. "It sounds like you're accusing me of lying about it."

Gareki shrugged." That's not what I'm insinuating. It just sounds weird to me that you were in Dampis Desert when Kiridian Empire is in the far East. You're a long distance away from your home and I'm just wondering why."

Pastel sighed before sitting down." I wasn't really going to show you this but looks like I might have too in order to prove myself."

Dark eyebrows furrowed." Show me what?"

"This." Suddenly a bright light appeared from around Pastel's neck. Gareki stared at him before closing his eyes at it's brightness. A small wind blew towards him, ruffling his hair away from his forehead. Seconds later it dimmed down into a low glow. Opening his eyes he saw a black collar with a red gem inside of it.

His eyes examined it." What is that?"

"This is a Kiridian Gem Nai, the prince gave to me. I've had it for a very long time now but I kept it hidden from your blonde friend there. He's an Outsider so I thought he was going to try and steal it from me."

"Yogi is an Outsider but he isn't the evil kind you mistake him to be. When he told you about only trying to get to the Realm Gates it's true, he only wants to get back to his own kingdom." Gareki defended. Pastel shook his head." Did you believe him the first time he told you that?"

Gareki opened his mouth to answer but closed it. He hadn't believed Yogi when he first told him that. The cat nodded." Now you see my reasons for not trusting him completely."

"And you're telling me this, because. . . ?"

"Well you're an Avatar, you don't steal like an Outsiders reputation is known for to do."

Gareki added in another plant before smashing it." So what does this gem have to do with anything?"

"The reason why I'm so far away from home is because I was stolen away by two bandits of the Fire District. Nearly everything in this world that steals knows how valuably important this gem is. Nai has two more of these in his castle but they decided to take me and go back for them. They were planning on taking me back to their district but I managed to get away from them. I lost my way in a sand storm after that and ended up down here. Now you know my story. And it's the truth."

"And you tried to get out of here but you couldn't." Gareki finished.

"Correct."

"Okay, I believe your story but what you thought about Yogi isn't true at all, I hope you realize that is isn't evil like other Outsiders are. He's innocent."

Pastel nodded."I'll take your word for it and stop pretending like I trust him. He's shown that he isn't what I thought he was and now I've decided to fully trust him so now I'm going to leave this collar on signifying that I do."

"He won't take it from you but are you sure you want to leave that out in the open? What if we make it up to Dampis and then those bandits show up again then they'll know it's you just by looking at it."

"I think not, since you two will be with me. And your magical abilities will be restored so it'd be like I have two body guards." Gareki abruptly paused at the words 'body guards'. "You should watch your mouth. I'm a prince and I'm not anyones body guard are we clear on that?"

"Sorry, I forget sometimes that I'm talking to royalty. You just don't fit the picture."

His faced hardened finding that as an insult." What's that supposed to mean?" he said in a low voice feeling his eyebrows crease.

"Relax, you're getting worked up over nothing. What I meant to say is that you just don't appear to be a prince considering your attire and. . . tattoos."He paused to cock his head as he examined them on both his arms." You look more like a huntsman or an assassin."

"I'm only dressed like this because I was being stealthy and this is more for going out on hunts, something that isn't valuable such as my royal clothing that'll get dirty. It wouldn't make much sense if I wore my prince attire on a trip like me and Yogi have been on. And If you're saying all this because of my tattoos then you should know that Avatarians who are next in line for the throne inherit these tattoos out of battles."

Pastel smiled." You must have gotten into a lot of those. You look rather strong."

"There are guards in my castle who are stronger but I'd say I'm a close second for now. But once I get my full powers back I'll be stronger then I am now." he smashed more plants into the bowl. It was beginning to look even less just like Pastel had said.

"I do find your culture pretty impressive despite the blood sucking." Pastel commented as he licked his paw cleaning his face." But did you do those tattoos by yourself?"

"Mostly," Gareki said quietly.

"Did it hurt?"

"Like hell. But I got used to the pain."

"I couldn't imagine Nai having to do anything like that."Gareki looked down into the bowl as he kept smashing. " What's he like, your owner?"

Pastel stilled as he thought about it.". . . He's fair, gentle, intimidating at times. He's over all a good prince of Kiridian Empire. Everyone always has something nice to say about him. Despite that his parents died because of Outsiders corrupting the castle a few years back but things have been restored mostly back to their peaceful ways."

Gareki clenched the rock in his hand hearing about this. "Just like my father," he whispered. Pastel looked up from licking himself." Pardon?"

He shook his head silently telling him it was nothing as he returned to smashing plants. He checked on Yogi who was still breathing and his heart was still beating in the same pattern from the last time he had checked it. The poison was still taking it's time.

Pastel continued telling him about Kiridian Empire. Saying that the people were nice there and peaceful with new comers that came along for a visit. One thing that he told him that struck him as odd was that none of the people nor did Nai have any magical skills only Pastel had the ability to make flames appear that's why his kingdom was normally the one to be stolen from because no one had any magical skills to protect themselves as well as their belongings. Even the royal guards struggled. Pastel also told him that the kingdom was near an ocean which surprised Gareki. He hadn't thought that an ocean would be in a desert.

"His castle is right near it." Pastel stated.

"Sounds like a nice place. If it weren't so hot I'd admire it more like you do but I can't bring myself to have enthusiasm about it. But Yogi will, considering he's from a hot place."

"He looks like he would." Pastel agreed. A moment passed and Gareki was finally done making the medicine it had turned slimy."Just place it where he was shot." Pastel instructed. Gareki held Yogi up with a hand while his other placed it's finger tips into the medicine before sliding it over the purple bump on Yogi's back shoulder thoroughly. He pulled his hand away examining his work.

"What do I do now?"

"Pop it." Pastel stated plainly. Gareki did a double take before turning to the cat with a frown." Pop it?!"

"Yes, you heard me. Do it."

"You have got to be kidding me," Gareki said as he turned back to the purple bump. He raised his hands, hesitating.

"You want the poison out of him don't you? Then go ahead and do it without hesitating." Gareki stopped and glanced at him. "I thought that was what the medicine was for."

"No, the medicine is for him to heal after you pop it." Gareki turned back around moving his hands to the bump on either side before adding a small amount of pressure. He gasped as dark purple slime squirted itself on his cheek making him cringe. Ughh!

Pastel smiled." I'm glad I have paws."


	39. Chimaera

**Music Choice—Ruelle—** **Take It All**

 **Through Hell's Gate**

 **The Ground Shakes**

 **A Valor Wakes And So It Begins**

 **Vengeance Waits And Fury reigns**

* * *

Gareki inhaled and quickly turned his face away as another squirt of purple slime came out of the protrusion on Yogi's back. Even though he moved his head away the slime still ended up hitting him. He squinted one eyes as he gave the bump one last bush with both his hands. Allowing more slime to come out of it. It was small now almost to the same size it had been before the bump grew on his skin. It looked some what normal now.

It was still purple though but he supposed it would turn back into it's normal skin tone in a few days. Gareki reapplied more medicine to his shoulder before quickly getting to his feet, walked over to the water and splashed his face to get rid of the slime.

"Ugh, That's so disgusting. Why couldn't you do it?" He turned his head to face the cat sitting there with a smile on his face.

He lifted up his front paw." I can't push something like that with these small things. You were better fit for the job rather than me."

Gareki sighed not having any comments to say about that. He turned back around and continued splashing his face. "Well look on the bright side, at least it's over." Pastel tried to console.

"Yeah, how lucky." Gareki only half complained as he wiped his face with his forearm. I just hope I got all the poison out without it reaching anything fatal."

"I'm sure you have. He should be fine now especially from those herbs I picked out. They not only heal the outside but the inside as well. So now he shouldn't have any more poison inside of him. We could probably even leave tonight if he wakes up before darkness falls or maybe even sooner if his strength is with him."

The Avatar paused in his movements.

"Tonight." Gareki repeated as he looked up at the sealing of the cave peering through a hole to see the rays of the sun had shifted over. "That won't be too long from now, I just hope he wakes up soon. We don't have time to be just waiting here."

"Your life is still on the line." Pastel added.

"Exactly." He agreed." If we can just get to Jiki's tonight or either tomorrow morning then we can focus on what's important. Like getting all of us out of this under ground cave."

"If you think about it, it was actually lucky for us that we fell into the lycan's territory or else we wouldn't have found this alternate path. Now we're closer than before." Pastel pointed out.

"Lucky us," Gareki said. His head turned towards Yogi as he heard him shift, breathing in more deeply as he lifted himself up into a sitting position. His eyes opened and he lazily looked around himself at his surroundings before looking at Gareki.

Gareki stood up and turned his body to face him." You're awake." Yogi lifted a hand to his side feeling his bare skin as he realized he was only in his boxers. He frowned as the grogginess from his sleep wore off." Where are we and why am I—

He hissed painfully as he grabbed his shoulder where the bump was a few inches away from his finger tips on his back. "What happened to me? It feels like something is cutting into my shoulder."

Pastel stood up looking at Gareki."Well you explain things to him while I go fetch something for him to eat." He ran away disappearing over a stone wall. Gareki watched him disappear before looking back to Yogi who was still looking at himself confused. He walked over to him but not before grabbing a hold of his clothes before dropping them in front of him.

Yogi eyed them carefully looking for a spot of blood." Don't worry, I cleaned them for you as well as your sword. They're dried now."

Yogi grabbed his shirt before slowly putting it on." Thank you. You didn't have to do that for me," he said in a low voice. Gareki shook his head before crossing his arms. He leaned against the stone wall." Trust me, the shape you were in I had to do everything."

Yogi suddenly paused as he realized the bites from the fiery beetles were no longer on his skin. Water was the cure for them so had Gareki. . . oh no. He dropped his hands slowly to his lab he stared at Gareki cautiously. " _Everything_?" He repeated with emphasis.

Gareki gave him a confused look. "What are you. . . . He didn't finish his question as he realized what Yogi was mentioning. "You were going to itch yourself to death so I had to do something about the bites in order to help you. Don't worry, I didn't see anything that you thought I saw when I was cleaning you."

Yogi heaved a quiet sigh of relief. "Thanks for helping me, again. But what happened to me?" He continued buttoning up his shirt.

"I thought you'd remember." Gareki claimed as he uncrossed his arms walking over to help him stand up.

"I remember being shot with a dart and us walking to the river but everything else is a blur." He grabbed his black pants before pulling them on." After that. . . it feels like I blacked out."

"The dart you were shot with was from one of those lycans but the poison inside of it took some time to take affect to your body. Once we got to the river you fainted. So you did black out."

"That dart must be why the back of my shoulder hurts." he figured.

"The reason why your shoulder hurts is because you had a bump, in which I had to pop in order to get the poison out of you. But it's healing now thanks to some medicine. So you're going to be fine."

Yogi nodded glad that Gareki had helped him with everything. It was great now that he wasn't giving him the cold shoulder any longer. Gareki picked up his sword from the ground and handed it to him.

Yogi saw that it was no longer covered in blood like before. He once again thanked Gareki."You've helped me a lot." He placed his sword back into it's holster.

Gareki stopped and stared at him before looking away." I'm only returning the favor." Yogi gave him a small smile before kneeling down to put on his boots." So what happened to me when I was unconscious?"

"If you're insinuating that something troublesome appeared then you're wrong. It was overall really quiet. But I doubt it'll stay that way."

"Agreed."

A rustling sound broke them out of their conversation as they both eyed the direction the noise had come from. Gareki prepared himself as the rustling got louder in a bush that was near them. He felt his hand get cooler as he summoned a ball of magic into his palm, ready to throw it when ready. The leaves on the bush moved and then suddenly Pastel jumped out.

Gareki lifted his hand about to throw it but he abruptly stopped himself. "Seriously, Pastel?" He dispersed the ball of magic in his hand before scowling at the cat in disapproval. "You didn't have to sneak up like that. It's like you have a death wish."

"Sorry, oh and I wasn't sneaking." He patted over to them with levitating fruit floating over his head just like the last time." I just happened to be in that direction trying to find a quicker way back to the both of you."

He pushed the fruit over to Yogi in mid air. Yogi reached out and grabbed the mango looking fruit. "Thanks."

"No problem." He offered as he sat back down. Yogi took a bite and as he did he noticed the black collar around the cats neck. He chewed his fruit staring at it as he swallowed." Where'd that collar come from?"

Gareki averted his eyes away from Yogi to look at Pastel's reaction. He saw the cat jump up slightly before stiffening. He told him about how he had gotten it from Nai, the Kiridian prince.

Yogi understood. "It must be really important to you?"

Pastel nodded. "It's a symbol of Kiridain Empire's royal family."

Gareki noticed that was something he hadn't mentioned to him when he explained the gem. A symbol of Kiridian. Probably from the death of Nai's parents. . . possibly?"

"You know he was taken away from Kiridian Empire all because of bandits. That's how he ended up down here." Gareki informed Yogi figuring that he didn't know that.

Yogi tide one of his boots fully before going to the next." Bandits? What kind of bandits?"

"Fire District." Pastel replied.

"I'm not familiar with that."

"Neither of us are." Gareki corrected.

Yogi glance at him surprised. He thought Gareki had a knowledge of everything in this Arcial Realm but he guessed not. "That's a first."

His back leaned against the wall as he shoved his hands into his pockets. "I'm not familiar with anything in Dampis."

That made sense. Yogi thought. Gareki wasn't from the desert so of course he didn't know." So what is it?"

"Fire District is a place where no one is familiar with. The saying goes that they live in the sand under ground where allegedly a whole band of thieves are. But people like to change the story a bunch so theirs no telling where they actually reside in."

"That's an odd name for them now that I think about." Gareki announced." If they live in the sand or whatever then maybe they should be called the Sand District instead of fire."

Pastel shook his head." Oh no, they definitely do live up to that name. They aren't just called the Fire District for nothing. They have the ability to wield fire. They're strong with it as well. They've attacked Kiridian Empire before, and lets just say a lot of destruction was left behind after that."

"If no one knows where they truly live, then by the time we get up to the surface we _**need**_ to be careful." Yogi emphasized, voice being firm." Especially if they have fire power." He looked directly at Gareki when he said that.

Gareki caught his eyes both of them staring at each other. Gareki was the first to look away as he turned back to Pastel as if he hadn't understood what he was mentioning, but he did. _Fire and ice_ _huh_? He thought. His element over ice was strong but fire was stronger, he would need to manage some how if the bandits crossed paths with them.

Closing his eyes and sighing he opened his mouth to speak. "Yogi, after you're done eating do you think you're strong enough to travel?"

Yogi turned back to his fruit in hand before realizing what day it was. "Second day of traveling to Jiki's. . ." he turned back and looked at Gareki who had opened his eyes and was looking at him strait in his violate ones once more. Yogi nodded once." We need to get your soul restored that's more important so I don't have the time to be wasting on being weak from poisoning."

Gareki's eyebrows furrowed in a serious manner." If you're weak Yogi then you don't need to force yourself all because of me—

"I'm fine." he interrupted. The slits in his blue-grey eyes tightened before expanding slightly. "Okay, but don't feel the need to push yourself. I'd rather you wrest when needed."

Yogi agreed.

Pastel eyed the both of them." Things are getting good." He whispered. Yogi didn't hear him but Gareki sure did as he snapped his eyes towards him with a frown and Pastel immediately closed his mouth at the icy look in his iris's.

After Yogi was done eating Gareki tide his black boots to his feet so they could prepare to leave. But before they continued onward Yogi stopped Gareki in his footsteps and asked him if he needed a drink of blood?

"You haven't really drank any since yesterday and I'm sure the poison in my system is gone by now."

Gareki turned to him." It's been gone ever since I first applied medicine to your wound." He corrected.

"So I'm clear," he asked. Gareki nodded.

"Okay," he said before lifting up his arm where his sleeve was already pulled up above his elbow revealing his forearm. "You need this." He declared.

Pastel paused and watched them curiously. Gareki stared at his arm before lifting his own hand up and pushed it down. "Neck." He simply stated.

Yogi didn't hesitate he trusted him to do this knowing full well he wouldn't drink too much. He would admit the he was a bit taken aback that he had said it though. Lifting his hands he unbuttoned his collar going down until it reached the center of his chest. He supposed it just tasted better if his blood was sucked from this part of his body, maybe that was why he chose it. But he wouldn't question it aloud.

His hands dropped to his sides as Gareki pushed aside his collar revealing a vein. He could hear it pulsing loudly in his ears. He leaned in closing his eyes as his lips brushed Yogi's warm skin before placing his growing fangs onto his neck pressing on the skin before penetrating into it. Placing his lips onto his neck as he sucked.

Yogi clenched his jaw at the sharp pain but it soon dialed down to a low aching as Gareki redirected his blood towards his mouth. Closing his eyes he secretly enjoyed the feeling, subconsciously leaning his head further away to allow more room for him to suck. He inhaled slowly through his parted lips as he felt Gareki's tongue slide against his skin right as he pulled his fangs out, cleaning the left over blood from his neck. He pulled away and Yogi slowly opened his eyes feeling that drunk sensation again as he lazily walked forward still under the influence of enjoying the painful yet pleasurable feeling.

Gareki looked to Pastel who seemed to of been smugly smirking but he turned his head away before Gareki could catch on." Aright this way you two."

Both of them followed as they continued their way further into the maze.

Hours latter they were still walking. Having to stay hidden at times as the Spiritual Beasts passed before continuing forward. Later they stopped at a water pool but with asking Pastel if it was safe to actually drink from.

"You two really untrusting of me. Of course it's safe," he said.

"We just want to make sure." Yogi insisted as he kneeled down at the water pool. He cupped his hands and gather the liquid in his palms before drinking. It tasted normal.

Gareki looked up noticing the sun was reaching it's zenith. It wouldn't be long when night would fall. "How far are we to Jiki's now?"

Pastel drank some water as well." We still have a bit to go but we are closer then we were this morning."

He sighed before dropping to the ground cross legged." Good, we can rest here for a bit then."

Yogi splashed some water onto his face. Closing his eyes as his wet fingers crossed over them. He inhaled before sighing keeping his eyes closed as he brought his hands down to his lap before opening them again. "Nearly there." He solaced. Couldn't help but to think of his sisters at that moment.

He slowly moved his eyes down to the still water. He looked at his reflection, looking at his curly hair before brushing a few strands away. He noticed the water rippled slightly as a small vibration erupted underneath him. He stopped moving as he stared at the water curiously. It rippled again but the circles were bigger then the last. It continued doing this over and over again. Bigger every time it happened. Yogi unfroze and quickly turned to Gareki.

"Something's coming this way—

A loud crash interrupted him. Gareki with his guard up the whole time quickly rolled out of the way before getting to his feet, glaive held out protectively as he stood next to Yogi who had gotten to his feet as well with his sword in hand.

There was smoke clouding the area where the stone wall had been broken through, bits and pieces of the wall feel to the ground loudly. The sound of thudding came closer to them. Gareki tightened his eyes as he saw a big shadow of a large wing span spreading out on a four legged creature. It growled as it neared them. Coming out of the smoke appearing bulky and tall.

Gareki glared at it's appearance as Yogi gasped along with Pastel.

A male lions body mixed with a goat head, a body of a snake head as it's tail, and dragon wings spreading out large and black.

Yogi's eyes widened at the creature standing in front of them. It's red eyes blazing.

"What is it?" he asked breathlessly.

Gareki's grip tightened around his glaive. . . ." A Chimaera."


	40. Jiki- The Warlock

**Music Choice—Todrick Hall—** **No Place Like Home**

 **Pay No Attention To The Man Behind The Curtain**

 **He's A Brainless Heartless Coward**

 **With No Power. It's Just Another Trick Of His**

 **So Don't Feel His Fire**

* * *

A red glow outlined the Chimaera's body. It lowered it's wings, pulling them down to it's sides as it eyed them carefully. There wasn't an iris or pupil in it's eyes just all red with fierce intentions inside of them making anyone feel fear the further you stared.

But Gareki didn't feel fear. He stared into it's eyes, not looking away as he stood ready for any sudden movements." Where did it come from?"

"It's a Spiritual Beast just like the others are in this area. It's been here longer then we have. Probably already marked it's territory in which we're standing in it right this moment." Pastel Chimaera stepped towards them causing them to step backwards into the water. It's shadow towered over them from it's tall height.

"If we're in it's territory then we should leave." Yogi urged. He looked at the Chimaera. It was way bigger than them and looked as if it could easily kill anything standing in it's path and Yogi didn't want to cross it any further then they had already done.

"It won't be easy considering it's size and strength. I doubt you two could fight and slay it without getting yourselves banged up badly." Pastel warned.

Gareki glanced at him quickly before looking back at the Spiritual Beast. "If we can't fight it then we're going to have to run. But I'm going to need to injure it so it doesn't follow us. The only place that'll keep it down is it's wings so I'm going to attack from there hopefully that'll be enough to keep it distracted."

Gareki took a step forward but stopped as Yogi gripped his shoulder lightly. He turned his head to look at him. "Why are you only going?" His eyebrows creased.

He stepped away from Yogi's hand so he couldn't stop him. "I'm not the one whose just been poisoned here, that's why."

"I told you before, Gareki. I'm fine." He insisted.

"You're still weak—Pastel's just a cat. As far as I know I'm the only one here who can stand against that thing."

Yogi stared into his eyes giving him a hard look. "I get that you're only trying to look out for me, but I can take care of myself."

"Even though when we first met you told me we should look out for each other's well being." Gareki countered. He rendered Yogi speechless after that statement.

"Yogi opened his mouth to say a come back but he took a glance behind Gareki and saw fire heading strait for them. "Look out!" He pulled Gareki down. Both of them falling to ground.

The heat from the fire radiated over their heads as they ducked down low. Once it stopped they pushed themselves back up to their feet looking at the Chimaera in shock." It can blow fire?" Gareki whispered in bewilderment. Of course he knew about this creature but he didn't know everything about it such as the fact of it blowing fire. This thing was going to be a challenge but he had been up against worst.

He pushed against Yogi's chest firmly as he gave him a serious look." You stay here until I give you and Pastel a signal to run. Okay?"

"Gareki—

"Now isn't the time for argueing with me." He stressed before turning away from him holding his glaive to the side as he ran forward. Pastel dropped down next to Yogi watching as Gareki ran toward the Beast." Let's hope your Avatar friend doesn't get himself killed."

Yogi didn't say anything as he stared at Gareki's back while he ran.

The blade on his glaive glowed blue as he transported his magic into it. His eyes trained on the Chimaera as he got closer before swiping his glaive across the air creating a long line of ice darts that headed strait towards it. "Let's see what you've got!" he shouted.

The ice darts were a few inches away but the Chimaera blew out a ball of fire melting the ice as if it were nothing. It had distracted him just like he had planned. He took the chance to jump on him. He was high up in mid air just a few feet above the Chimaera's face before holding his weapon high above his head ready to strike his blade into one of the beast's wings.

But his plan was fowled as it's wings opened up and fanned towards him blowing a huge gush of wind his way, throwing him back. Gareki felt as if someone had shoved him hard as he fell against the ground before flying back up only to land into the water with a loud splash in the shallow end.

He heard splashes as foot steps rushed toward him. A hand grabbed his shoulder as he pushed himself up onto his hands and knees spitting out water before he gripped his weapon in his right hand.

"Are you okay?" Came Yogi's voice as he kneeled down next to him. He looked on his temple and saw that he was bleeding from a small opening." You're bleeding."

Gareki got back to his feet, wiping the blood from his small injury before glaring at the Chimaera." Yogi, you need to move, or else you're going to die."

"What about you? What about your life? You're making a big mistake if you think you can handle that thing all on your own. Let me help you, Gareki," Yogi said more sternly. His hand on his shoulder becoming tighter. Gareki glanced at the Chimaera as it's wings curled back to it's sides. It was way bigger then him, bigger then the lycans had been but this creature was an entirely different story. From what he heard a lot of people had died from this one creature. Yogi had a point he reluctantly admitted to himself. He glanced back to Yogi before sighing.

"Fine. But you sure as hell better not die," he said firmly. The stern look on Yogi's face weakened as he said this. He cared about his life. But something about the way he had said it made it clear that it meant more importance to him then he let on.

"Okay." He concurred, letting go of his shoulder as he held his sword with both his hands instead." What's your plan?"

Gareki turned his body to face the Spiritual Beast as he went through his next course of actions. He came up with an idea." You can control vines with that sword, correct?"

"Yes."

"I'm going to need you to wrap vines around his legs, neck, midsection and mouth."

Yogi looked at the Chimaera checking to see if he could pull that off without it rampaging toward him. He supposed he could do it at this distance where he was only a few feet away from it. He nodded in agreement."Noted. But what about his snake tail?"

Gareki peered at the snake that was eyeing him with its slits. It looked prepared for his next actions but maybe it wouldn't be able to decipher his movements if he moved quickly. "Don't worry, I can handle it. Are you standing off at this distance?"

"Yeah." He gave Pastel a glance who was standing next to him. "Me and Pastel are."

Gareki glanced at the cat before looking back at his target. He gripped his glaive with both hands as he stood in a running stance holding it down to prepare to strike upwards when needed." I'll give you the signal." With that said he speedily ran forward. The water under his boots not slowing him down as he focused his magic into his blade once more.

The Chimaera opened it's mouth where a ball of fire was forming before being thrown at him. Gareki focused his magic into a shiled in front of him as he ran. The fire connected with it hard and he knew it wasn't going to hold. He thought quickly before jumping up right as his shield broke into shards of ice. He lifted his glaive above his head repeating the same thing he did the first time. The Chimaera looked up at him forming yet another ball of fire.

"Now!" He yelled.

Yogi stabbed his blade into the water digging it into the dirt down below before quickly speaking to his sword. He ordered it to unleash it's vines to wrap around the Chimaera in the specific places Gareki had told him.

Vines erupted from the water flying strait towards the Spiritual Beast. Gareki watched as it's mouth was forced closed by the vines, causing the ball of fire to disperse inside it's mouth. He landed on it's back as it's wings were forcedly wrapped at it's sides by the vines.

He went over to them holding up his glaive preparing to cut one of them but just as the tip of his weapon got close to cutting into it he felt a presence behind him and immediately turned around to see the large snake head lunging for him with it's venomous fangs.

Gareki brought up his glaive scratching it across it's face with the tip of his blade as he rolled away to the other side of the Chimaera's back to get more distance between them. The Snake recovered before finding where he had gone and lunged again.

Gareki ducked backwards, luckily he was flexible enough not to lose his balance as he lifted himself back up into a strait position. The snake reared back preparing to lunge again. Gareki took the few seconds he had to focus his a blast of magic from the tip of his glaive. The snake opened it's mouth wide as it went for him again. Gareki held his glaive out strait before unleashing the blast of magic right into the snake's mouth. Sending it flying back as it's head was ripped clean off from the force of the magic.

Gareki ignored where the head fell as he turned on his feet and quickly cut right through the Chimaera's wing before doing the same to the other watching as it fell to the ground in a puddle of blood. A loud roar sounded in his ears and he brought up his hands covering them to shroud out the loud noise.

He felt a vine wrapped around his midsections before picking him up and lowering him to the ground. He looked up to see Yogi who was urging him to run. Uncovering his ears he heard a snapping sound as some of the vines broke from the beast's anger and distress.

They all turned and started running. Following Pastel down the maze trail. He could hear a stone wall break from behind them as more sounds of vines snapping filled their ears.

"He's getting lose!" Yogi yelled as they all ran as fast as they could to get away from the area.

"I thought your vines were supposed to be strong!" Gareki yelled back as more stone walls were breaking behind them causing crashes to reverberate against the cave making them louder.

"They are, but not against something this big."

"I wish you could have told me that sooner."

"Sorry, I didn't expect it to go thrashing around like that once you cut off it's wings."

"I wish you two can stop talking and instead think of a way for all of us to get out of this situation!" Pastel interrupted.

"He right," Gareki said just as a loud crash broke through from a stone wall close behind them. Pieces from the wall flew and one of them hit Gareki making him fly with it until his back slammed against a wall. Immediately causing him to fall unconscious as he collapsed to the ground on his side. Yogi and Pastel stopped and looked back at him concerned.

Yogi saw he was bleeding even more from his head causing thoughts to cross his ,mind that he might be dead but he quickly pushed the thought out of his mind. Forcing himself not to believe it.

Yogi looked to the ground in front of him and saw his weapon lying there. He looked up and saw the Chimaera standing where the stone wall had been before it had knocked it over. It lifted it's paw and reached for Gareki with it.

Picking him up by the back of his shirt as his body hung from it lazily like a rag doll.

"It's going to kill him," Yogi said to himself. He quickly pulled out his amulet from his shirt, holding it in his hand before holding it out toward the Spiritual Beast. "What are you planning on doing?" Pastel asked.

"I have an idea, I just hope it doesn't fail me." He focused on his amulet but the strong pulse that normally occurred when he was in distress wasn't there this time. "Come on. This is no time for you not to be working." He stared at it seriously before looking back up to see Gareki's body getting closer to the Chimaera's mouth where a fire ball was forming itself. Growing bigger by the second.

That set his magic off and he could feel the strong pulse again. The amulet slowly began to glow brightly before blasting it's magic toward the Chimaera. Shooting it strait in it's right eye. It roared throwing Gareki's body aside.

Yogi felt his heart lurch in his chest as soon as he had seen Gareki falling. Dropped his amulet he ran forward catching him in both arms just in time before he could hit the ground. He let out a breath of relief before kneeling down, lifting a hand to Gareki's bleeding forehead wiping some of the blood away.

The Chimaera rumbled around still distracted by it's burned eyeball. Yogi took his time checking over Gareki for anymore injuries other then his forehead. Scanning over his body he soon noticed he had a medium sized rock shard sticking out of his shoulder and was losing a lot of blood. Yogi shook his head seeing the horrific sight but he couldn't do anything about it. If he pulled it out then that would be more blood loss until he eventually died. He wasn't sure of what to do.

Yogi placed him on the ground making sure to keep one of his hands on him so he was laying propped up on one of his shoulders instead of the one being impaled by the rock. He pulled his other hand from underneath his back to see his entire palm and fingers were covered in his blood. "Oh God." He breathed in astonishment.

"We need to get out of here before it tries to kill us this time." Pastel urged as he came over to his side. He looked down at his hand and saw how much blood was coating it. "Is that all from him?"

"He's in critical shape."

"We're going to be in critical shape if we stay here. We need to go, Yogi." Yogi paused thinking about what he was going to do about Gareki if they did make it out of this alive. His shoulders sunk downward as he thought of having no other choice of letting the rock stay in his shoulder hoping he wouldn't die from it opposed to pulling it out. In the corner of his eye he saw his glaive slowly grow a thin ice layer before the weapon disappeared into glowing blue sparks. He turned back to Gareki.

Hoisting him over his shoulder before running along side Pastel. But before they made any distance the Chimaera blocked their path, looking down at them with one eye as the other was burning flesh where Yogi had shot it.

"We don't have time for this," Yogi said under his breath. The Chimaera opened it's mouth a small ball of fire growing gradually bigger. From the way things looked they weren't going to get enough distance before the fire ball landed so they both didn't bother running. Yogi held out his amulet, hoping it would shield them when the fire came.

But before the Chimaera could throw it down to them a long whip wrapped itself around it's snout yanking it to the left. Yogi froze where he stood as he slowly looked to the left where the whip had come from only to see a man with strait black hair wearing long black trench coat with a white button up over black pants and dress shoes.

He yanked once more on his whip, seeming to have quite a bit of strength as the Chimaera went toppling over to the ground. Smashing more stone walls of the maze. Birds flew from the trees by the disturbance.

Yogi slowly dropped his arm down to his side. "Who is that?" Pastel eyed the man carefully before making his mind up of who it was. "That is the warlock, Jiki."


	41. Possssed Soul

Yogi watched as Jiki handled the Chimaera without a hassle, as if he had fought something as big and powerful as this plenty of times before. Of course the Spiritual Beast got lose a few times from his whip but he would always be a step ahead. He had his guard up for every movement the creature made, barely giving it time to make a move on him.

Yogi stood there, watching him intently and curiously. "Is he really helping us?"

Pastel watched Jiki's movements as well. "I believe so."

Yogi continued watching him but a small groan from Gareki made him realize his life was on the line but even more closer to death then just his soul being half gone." He needs to hurry up and take that thing down, Gareki's starting to become conscious."

"Let's hope he doesn't wake up when that rock's in his shoulder." Pastel stated as he gave Gareki a careful stare.

Yogi glanced down at him. "What do you mean by that?"

"If your friend there wakes up then he's going to be in a whole lot of pain considering his sensations will be awakening as well."

"Of course," Yogi said in realization feeling slightly disappointed in himself he hadn't thought of that scenario occurring. How hadn't the idea cross his mind? It should've been obvious. Here he was supposed to be helping Gareki's well being but he ended up getting hurt. He could've stopped Gareki from crashing into the wall if he had used his vines. But instead here he was bleeding out hanging from his shoulder. Yogi envied him. Instantly thinking he wanted to switch places with him if he were to deal with a pain such as a rock being in his shoulder.

His arm that was wrapped around his midsection instinctively tightened."I'm sorry," he said to Gareki in a whisper. If he didn't hear it, it was fine. He just wanted to say some kind of apology for letting this happen.

There was a loud crash and small rocks flew from more of the stone walls that had been broken down by the Chimaera's weight falling against them as it once again toppled over. But this time it didn't get back up. It's eyes were half open but it was still and not breathing.

His violate eyes stared at the Chimaera warily. Had Jiki taken it down completely?

"It's dead." Pastel confirmed his questionable thoughts of if it lived or died. Yogi still kept his eyes on it before averting them over to Jiki who was standing on the remains of a stone wall glaring at the beast. He pulled on his whip, it automatically wrapped itself around his arm before he pulled it off, wrapping it up again before hanging it on his hip. Slowly he turned his yellow eyes to them.

But Yogi felt as though he was looking directly at him. His yellow eyes examined him up and down before looking at Gareki on his shoulder and after that he finally brought his eyes down to Pastel who was sitting, slowly moving his tail from left to right behind him.

His eyes moved away from Pastel but continuously stared at Yogi with a hint of distrust on his face.

"You can come down from there now." Pastel called out to him. Jiki turned and jumped down from the wall before walking towards a tree where he brought up a sake that had some kind of foreign plant Yogi wasn't knowledge about nor had he seen before. Jiki swung it over his shoulder before walking over to them.

"I thought you'd died out here. Nice to see you're still alive after you left my cave." He spoke in a monotone as he gave Pastel a disapproving frown. Yogi glanced down at Pastel, lifting an eyebrow for him to explain what he meant.

Pastel caught his confusion before answering." Yes, while I spent most of my time down here I lived with Jiki and he took care of me."

The cat turned back to the warlock." But of course you should already know I was trying to find my way out of here. I'm not like you Jiki, I can't stand being underground and you know how important it is to me to get back home."

"I get it. But next time you should tell me before you run off like that."

Yogi eyed him. So this was the person who was going to restore Gareki's soul. He looked like he had experience with this sort of thing as if he was a doctor—but for souls. He also looked as if he knew a lot of magic. . . and speaking of magic he must of been powerful because he could sense a strong force of magic coming from him.

"What are you doing all the way out here anyway?" Pastel asked as Jiki looked at Yogi once again before looking at Gareki.

"I was collecting more herbs for potions and medicines."

"So you're a healer too." Yogi asked.

Jiki slowly nodded. "I'm guessing you're an Outsider who snuck down here to try and take Eva's treasure. If you're trying to ask for my assistance in helping you then that's a definite no. I don't help thieves."

Yogi was slightly taken aback that he had suspected that. Just like Pastel had done when they first met. Did he really look like an Outsider that it was obvious just by a glance. He opened his mouth to correct him but Pastel interjected. "He's not a thief. He is an Outsider but what I've heard and seen from him proves that he doesn't have any bad intentions. He's innocent and we need your help, medical help. One of us has been seriously injured," he said firmly.

Jiki pushed his hand to his hip bringing his eyes away from Pastel as he eyed Gareki for a few passing seconds. "Fine," he said reluctantly as he glanced at Yogi. "You can prove yourself by coming with me to my cave and explain yourself once we get there. Meanwhile I'll work on your almost deceased friend there. Judging by his blue tail, he's an Avatar which won't be easy for me to work with but I'll do my best. Come with me, quickly if you want him to live." He turned around causing his trench coat to ruffle behind him as he walked speedily.

Yogi wondered to himself what he meant by it not being easy for him to work with Gareki but he dismissed it as he and Pastel followed him through the maze. Successfully not getting themselves into traps or running into any more Spiritual Beast. But that didn't necessarily mean they didn't have to keep cautious. Each of them kept an eye out for danger until they made it to Jiki's cave.

They followed him down a small tunnel before stopping at a solid wall of the cave. Yogi watched Jiki's back concerned but as he stared at him he dropped the sake he was holding and lifted his hands up in front of him. A dark blue light came from his palms as he focused his magic into them.

"Release," he said. As soon as the word left his mouth the cave wall slowly formed a door right in front of them. That made sense. It was a hidden home for him. Jiki unlocked it before leading them inside closing it from behind."Set him down on the couch." He ordered as he walked over to a table where more plants were placed in vases.

He set the sack of plants aside on the desk as he picked up empty glasses for experiments. Yogi found the couch and slowly placed Gareki on his front side staying aware of the rock lodged in his shoulder as he did. He eyed his face as he kept a light hand on his mid back. His eyes were still closed but his breathing was harsh. He was struggling to breathe and that only made Yogi's nerves heighten." He's in really bad shape."

"What's his conditions?" Jiki asked as he pulled herbs from jars on a shelf.

"Near death and bleeding out from a rock shard lodged into his shoulder, and he also needs his soul restored." Pastel interrupted once again. Jiki almost paused at what he was doing once he heard the soul restored part but he continued mixing the necessary medicines he would need. "The Avatar got himself half dead by a Death Keeper? What a dumb idea of going up against one of those demons. I wonder what could've caused him to fight one of those things." He didn't even try to hide the fact that he was technically calling Gareki stupid for fighting one of them. His voice tone gave that away.

"His name is Gareki and yes, he did but he was only trying to protect himself in Laisra. We were both there." Yogi corrected. Slightly having an irritated tone in his voice. He didn't want to show that he was offended by what he had said about Gareki considering he was helping to save his life and he didn't want to be cocky and say something that would make him mad and then not help him.

Jiki smiled but it was out of sight for Yogi or Pastel to see. "No point in getting mad. I was only asking. But what I want to know now is what were the two of you doing in a nightmarish place like that. You do realize only demons and shadows live there, right?" he mixed in another herb.

"Of course we did." Yogi paused before speaking again. "We needed to pass through there because we need to get to the Realm Gates. It's a mission we've been on for the past few days."

Jiki frowned at the cup of medicine on his desk before continuing to add more plants. "I don't understand it. You're an Outsider, you have the ability to form Realm Gates so why would you need to travel all the way to a place with an Avatar? You're his enemy. I'm honestly surprised to see you two together instead of being at each others throats trying to kill one another."

Yogi shook his head."I am an Outsider. That's what Gareki confirmed me to be once we met and he tried to kill me. But he saw the truth of what my true intentions are. I'm not here to steal or cause destruction. . . I only want to get back home to my own realm. And if you say I'm supposed to be able to form Realm Gates you're wrong, I don't have that ability. Though I wish I did so I can save my kingdom more quicker then the pace I'm going now."

"I'll ask you about your kingdom in a second but what I don't understand is your ability,"Jiki said." I heard that all Outsiders have the ability to form a Realm Gate, so why can't you?"

"Yogi comes from a realm where a kingdom he lives in is called the Sun Kingdom. He's an Outsider because he comes from a different realm from ours so that doesn't necessarily mean he has the ability to form Realm Gates like you thought." Pastel informed.

"Well that explains a lot. But what is it about your kingdom that needs to be saved?"

Yogi sighed as he explained the whole story to Jiki. Once again having the tell another person of how it all happened. Forcing himself to remember the horrific flashes of fire, destruction and the taking of his sister from that sinister man Vileus. All the while he kept his hand on Gareki's back slowing caressing his index finger over his shirt.

His heart was still beating, it was amazing that he was still alive. He was like a fighter or more like he was.

"Is all of that true?" Jiki asked him as he turned to glance his way.

"If it weren't then do you think Gareki would be helping me now? After all he is an Avatar. They're hard to reason with and they don't trust all that easily."

Jiki stared at him as he thought about it. He nodded slowly. "You do have a valid point. I'll trust you for now. But I'll have to keep an eye on you."Jiki walked over to where Gareki laid. He examined the rock in his shoulder before looking at Yogi. "We can't do anything with that shard in him like that. I want you to take it out."

Yogi paused. "But won't that make him bleed more—

"Do you want to save his life?" Jiki interrupted. "If you do then do as I say, he's already running out of time."

Yogi inhaled before gripping onto the rock shard pulling it. Gareki suddenly snapped his eyes open from the intense pain going up his arm. He let out a pained groan as Yogi pulled harder. Yogi saw that he was awake. "I'm sorry, Gareki but this has to come out of you." he added another pull and Gareki let out another groan that sounded like an angry growl. His facial expression twisted into a pained one as he gripped the couch.

The slits in his wide eyes dilated as he clenched his jaw tightly as another loud growl erupted from his throat. "Hurry!" He urged. With that said Yogi gave one last pull and the shard was free but mostly covered in his blood. Yogi saw Gareki's tense muscles on his back loosen as his body relaxed. His eyes were closed as he breathed through the aching and burning pain but even he knew his limits. A lot of painful things he had gone through in his life but this was excruciating .

"It's out." Yogi assured him. Jiki came forward and examined the hole in his shoulder. "You're lucky I can heal something as awful as this or else you'd be walking around with a hole in your shoulder the rest of your life."

Yogi kept his hand on Gareki's back moving it slowly to distract him from the pain. He knew that Gareki didn't like him touching him but he didn't seem to mind at this point. "What are you going to do to him?"

"I'm going to stop the bleeding but first I'll put him to sleep so the pain won't be excruciating." he walked over to his desk and picked up a syringe before injecting it into a light pink liquid sucking some of it into the tube before turning back to them.

Yogi glanced at Gareki who still had his eyes closed trying to breathe through the pain. "It'll be over soon." He comforted. Gareki just glanced his way before closing his eyes again. "Just get it over with." He struggled to say.

Jiki kneeled down where Gareki's arm was before lifting it up and penetrated the needle into his blood stream before pushing the liquid into him. Yogi watched as he pulled the needle out and no sooner had he done it Gareki's body slowly became limp as minutes ticked by. His head dropped onto the couch as he fell asleep. He was still struggling to breathe.

Yogi looked at Jiki as he stood back up and walked over to his desk to gather medicines. "Is there anything you can do about his breathing?"

"Once he heals his wound his breathing should go back to normal. "Pastel informed as he hopped up on the top part of the couch to get a better look at Gareki's wound. "That rock really went in deeply." He muttered.

"It surprises me he's still breathing at all,"Jiki said as he reached for one of his potions on a top shelf.

"He's strong when he needs to be." Yogi stated.

"Maybe it's just because he's an Avatar. You know their culture is all about fighting in battles, right? He's obviously been through plenty of things painful in his life time, so he's used to it."

Yogi lifted an eyebrow as he looked at Jiki's back. "You would know?"

"Of course since I've been knowledged about them ever since I was young. I know a lot about them." There was a clanking sound of a medal spoon hitting against a glass as he mixed the concoctions of his potion together.

Yogi recalled what he had said earlier before bringing it up. "Why did you say it would be hard for you to work on him?"

"Because, most of my medicines that I make are made for other mythical humans unlike his kind."

"Oh." Was all he said. Jiki took a glance at Gareki before turning back around to what he was doing. "Take off his shirt. I can't apply medicine to his wound if the fabric's in the way." Yogi walked over to the middle of the couch, placing his arms around Gareki before slowly lifting him up and turning him on his front. He unbuttoned his shirt, taking it off carefully before dropping it to the ground. He then turned him back onto his front so his wound was revealed again.

Jiki came over and applied the medicine he had been mixing onto Gareki's bleeding injury. He applied a generous amount making sure it was coated thoroughly before pulling away. "It'll take him all night to heal completely but by morning he should be fine."

"Good." Yogi crossed his arms. "What are you going to do about his soul?"

I'm getting to that." He set down the glass." Show me where he was marked. All Death keepers leave a mark if they've taken a soul, or in this case half of one since your friend here is still alive that just tells me the Death Keeper only took half."

Yogi did the same thing over again as he placed Gareki on his back once more. Jiki crossed an arm over his chest as his other lifted up where his hand placed over his mouth in a thoughtful manner. He analyzed Gareki's tribal tattoos before landing on the devil pentagon an inch away from his navel.

"There is a catch to his soul being half gone." Pastel spoke. Both Yogi and Jiki looked at him. "What are you talking about?"Jiki asked.

"I'm saying that tomorrow is his last day of living if we don't get his soul restored in his body. I don't know the full details of how it this all happened, but I'm sure yogi does." Both of them turned to Yogi expectedly.

Yogi collected his thoughts as he recalled being in the realistic vision with Eden, the angel who had made the deal with him that Gareki would be dead in three days and taken up to the Heaven gate if his soul hadn't been restored within that time. He explained this to them.

"You have realistic visions?" Jiki asked sounding slightly amazed.

"Every now and then they happen randomly. I don't know how they started but they just do." Yogi confirmed. "But what Eden told me is really important. I don't want Gareki to die because of this."

"You must really want him to take you to the Realm Gates."Jiki turned back around to look at Gareki.

Yogi sighed trying to hold back his irritation of being offended by his comment but he couldn't." That isn't true, I'm not selfish like that. I genuinely care about him like a companion. So are you going to save his life or are you going to accuse me of being things that I'm not?"

Jiki smirked at his attitude. "My mistake, I'll help him but just to let you know this procedure won't be painless." He dropped his hands to his sides before lifting one towards the pentagon on Gareki's stomach. He spread his fingers apart as that same blue light came out of his palm. He used his magic to scan over his body closing his eyes as he did.

A moment of silence passed before he finally spoke.

"The Death Keeper that did this really was clever. Apparently he knew you'd try to restore his soul and because of that your friend here has a shadow beast inside of him that'll only come to life once I perform the spell of giving his soul back to him. He'll have to fight to live."

Yogi's eyebrows furrowed. "So what are you saying?"

"What I'm saying is he'll be dragged into his biggest nightmares because of the shadow beast controlling him. But Gareki has to get through them without falling too far into his fears. He has to make it back to reality and hopefully he'll wake up and when he does the shadow beast will know it has lost and will allow my magic to give him his soul back."

"If a shadow beast is inside of him then he'll make Gareki violent won't he?" Pastel asked. Yogi glanced his way once he said that. "What?"

Jiki nodded."You have a point. We're going to have to tie him up before I begin the spell."

Before Yogi knew it Jiki had Gareki's wrists hand cuffed to the cave wall as he sat there on his knees still asleep. "Why are you doing this?" He asked still with his arms crossed. Was it really necessary for them to cuff him to the wall like this?

"I can tell you've never seen a shadow beast possess someone before." Jiki stated as he kneeled down in front of Gareki with his hands outstretched as he began to perform the spell. "Your friend won't be the same person once I've begin the first words of my spell so just be prepared."

Yogi was speechless as he watched Jiki begin to speak words in a different language, one he didn't know. All the while Gareki's body stayed still as his head leaned on one of his raised arms. His eyes stayed closed but once Jiki said the last word of his spell his eyes snapped open as he jerked forward letting out a scream towards the ground as if something painful was happening to him.

His body trembled as his hands gripped the chains on his wrists. He stopped screaming as an angry growl left his throat sounding so vicious it made Yogi's heart jump in his chest. He automatically took a step back as Jiki stood up and walked away from Gareki as he grew more violent at each passing second.

"It's taking over. "Pastel warned.

Yogi stood there watching as Gareki's body continued to tremble and growls left his throat. He threw his head back to the sealing, his jaw clenched tightly as a small trail of blood left the corner of his lip possibly from him biting it on accident. His eyes widened as his pupils and iris's disappeared into a red color that covered his entire eyes with a demonic glow the pentagon on his stomach burned red just as his eyes did.

Gareki violently pulled at his restraints causing them to cut into his skin but the pain seemed to be invisible to him as he kept doing it. His red eyes fell onto Yogi before letting out an angry snarl that reverberated around the room.

Yogi felt his mouth gape open slightly as he stared wide eyed at the person in front of him.

Pastel came over to him as they both watched Gareki continue his violent actions of trying to get lose." He's in his nightmares now, lets hope he'll make it out."

All Yogi could do was nod. He was still speechless.


	42. Soul Restored

**A/N: Sorry for the less updates but it turns out I'm moving into a new house soon so there might be a pause in my updates for a few days until I get everything packed up and situated. Thanks for understanding.**

* * *

Yogi stepped into the entrance of the cave as the moonlight from one of the holes above shined down on him. He leaned his side to the cave wall as he crossed his arms over his chest staring out at the glowing plants and moss of the Ever Grove.

Considering night fell, more Spiritual Beast lurked the area. But luckily they minded themselves and paid no attention to him as he stood slightly in the shadows of the cave. They once again glowed against the brightness of the Ever Grove like ghosts. And a lot more species showed their appearances to him as they passed by.

Yogi had gotten a close look at a few and all he could think was: strange how these creatures were made. He admitted that there was still something about them that appeared fascinating to him though. He wasn't going to lie about that.

He sat on a ledge of the cave wall, It acted as a bench. He brought up one of his legs, tucking his booted foot underneath his thigh while the other leg stayed on the ground. He reached into his shirt and brought out his amulet.

A moment of silence passed as he stared at it. He blinked finally before dropping it down to his chest. He leaned his back and head against the wall, staring up at the stalactites on the sealing.

How much farther did they have to go for this trip to be over with? He had forgotten to ask Gareki if he could see the map but after Jiki's spell was done taking place then he would be sure to ask him. Speaking of Jiki's spell, Gareki still wasn't himself. He was currently inside chained up to the wall acting like a completely different person or more like a wild animal.

That's why he decided to come out here. It had been too much seeing him acting that way. One moment he was yelling in pain and then the next he would snap and snarl at you. Those blue-grey eyes he had been so used to just seemed so different now that they were red.

But he knew it was only because of the shadow beast possessing him. He just hoped Gareki would be strong enough to fight his biggest nightmares and heal quickly. They had been through a lot and the least he could do was turn out okay once this whole thing was over.

"Oh, it is quite cold out here." Came Pastel's voice. Yogi heard the pitter-patter of his small paws against the ground as he walked over to him.

He jumped slightly not expecting to hear his voice, he had been too caught up in his thoughts to be aware of his full surroundings. He sunk back down before turning to the cat as he waltzed over into the moon light and sat down. "You don't feel cold, even with what you're wearing?" He asked, ears twitching as he rubbed his furry arm over his face.

His lean body was now sporting a dark brown T shirt, tanned skinny jeans and laced up brown knee high boots. His tattered clothing Jiki had decided for him to throw away considering it was in bad shape and he had offered some of his clothes to give to him in replacement.

It felt good to be in clean clothes again that weren't ripped or covered in blood. "I did tell you I'm from the Sun Kingdom so this cold doesn't bother me." He replied quietly, he brushed a few strands of curly blonde hair away from his eye.

"So you never get cold, then?" He asked.

"No, I can still get cold if the temperature was higher then this but right now I don't feel anything."

Hm. Pastel hummed in understanding.

It was silent for a few minutes before Yogi broke it. "How's he doing?"

"Your boyfriend?" He joked.

Yogi closed his eyes exhaling a small breath before opening them again towards the cat. "I'm serious, Pastel."

The cat chuckled. "He's still loud and angry, also still trying to get lose but his injury seems to be closing up like Jiki predicted." Yogi slowly nodded as he continued to stare at the prominent moon light shining in. "That's great but how's he doing with the shadow beast?"

"I can't really tell. The only way we'll know is if he wakes up and the shadow beast has left him, but in the mean time we just wait possibly till morning. Who knows how long it'll take him to wake up."

Yogi stayed silent for a few seconds not knowing how to comment. Over the last few days Gareki and he had been together. Yogi had just now noticed his protectiveness over the Ice prince. The Avatar had grown on him ever since the beginning of their first meeting with each other. But during that first meeting it had been a small amount of emotions he felt towards him at that point and now like he had said, it was only growing more each day and that had caused him to worry as if Gareki were like a close friend or family member. He honestly wouldn't know what to do if he had died.

Especially with the heavy burden on his shoulders of fearing for his sister's and the people of his kingdom's lives and how he would save them, he didn't want to add Gareki to that list so he pushed the thought out of his head.

"I just want to get out of this place, back to the surface," he said crossing his arms back over his chest.

"You and me both. I've been down here for 2 years." Pastel replied.

"That sounds awful, I mean with you having a home that you want so badly to get back to but you ended up stuck down here. I can imagine how you felt."

Pastel nodded." Yes. But I'm lucky that you two just so happened to fall down here, now I can finally go back home. It makes me think of how long the rest of your journey will take you till you get back to your own home. I mean, have you any idea how far the Realm Gates are?"

"I haven't the simplest clue." Yogi shrugged. "I was just thinking to myself to have a look at the map Gareki has once the shadow beast has left his body. Why the sudden question?"

Pastel laid on the ground. "Well a cat has to be curious at times. But about the Realm Gates, you should know it's located at an island inside a temple. I'm sure I don't need to inform you of the many Realm Gates you will see there considering it's obvious by the name."

". . . A temple, huh? For some reason it would make sense for the Realm Gates to be located there."

"Why do you say that?"

He shook his head. "It just seems like a perfect location for them to be in. They sound so important in this world and temples usually have things that are important inside them."

"They _**are**_ important. That's why they are heavily guarded by the Turibians. Creatures who resemble apes but are actually creatures of the kingdom who live there. They protect it from anything that goes on that island. If you think about it then you'll know how dangerous the Realm Gates can be. Any criminal in this world could pass through them and create chaos for other realms."

"They have to be powerful in order to protect something so important." Yogi stated.

Pastel nodded. "Oh, they are. But besides that, I understand that you want to go back to your own kingdom to stop it from being corrupted but how are you planning on stopping Vileus? You did tell me he turned the people of your kingdom against you."

Yogi lifted up his amulet. The moonlight reflecting off it's hard medal curves. "I'm planning on using this."

Pastel got up from the ground and put himself in a sitting position. "Not to be rude or anything but how are you exactly going to stop him with a half amulet. It's magic is clearly not as powerful as it should be, correct?"

Yogi lowered it down as he kept his eyes on it. "That is true, but it was an idea I had all because of Gareki and I just feel as though it'll work. I just need to find the other half and place them together. I know it'll mold itself back together and then I'll be able to reverse all the things Vileus has corrupted."

"Why do you think that'll work?"

Yogi gave him a serious look. "Because, the amulet was ripped apart and half of it is in the wrong hands that's the main reason of why my kingdom is being corrupted. And since the amulet was passed down to me, I hold most of the power inside of myself so naturally once it's back in my grasp it's powers will connect with me again instead of Vileus. But the only thing that'll prove to be problematic is getting into his castle without being seen."

"I understand what you're saying, but how are you planning on finding it? A lot of things can go wrong especially since you're going to be on your own."

"I'm still doing it nevertheless Pastel, even if I die trying. I need to get my sisters out of there, they mean everything to me."

Another moment of silence filled the air before Yogi spoke again. "By the way. . .

Pastel looked at him expectedly for him to continue.

"I'm also glad that we found you too. I'm sorry I haven't thanked you for all that you've done for me and Gareki so far even if you did make a few mistakes I'm still going to give you my gratitude." He looked down at Pastel to see that the cat was smiling at him.

"It's all in a days work, but you're welcome," he said sincerely.

Suddenly the sound of a door opening interrupted them. They both turned around and found Jiki standing in the door way. "I wouldn't stay out here for long." He warned.

"Why's that?" Yogi said.

"Normally Spiritual Beast like to roam in here during the night and if they see us, well you already know what'll happen." Pastel explained.

"Right." He agreed pushing himself off the ledge before following Pastel into Jiki's home. He shut the door behind them. Yogi looked to where Gareki was on his knees. His head was bowed down to his chest as he slowly pulled on the chains with both of his arms. It looked like he had gone back to his regular self but apon seeing his glowing red eyes he instantly rethought the assumption.

"It's about time for all of us to be getting some sleep. I'll show you to your bedroom." Jiki offered. Yogi didn't answer he was too busy staring at Gareki. "Yogi?" Pastel broke him out of his daze. He looked down at the cat." Are you coming?"

He glanced at Gareki again before shaking his head. "No, I should keep an eye on him. I'll stay out here for tonight."

Jiki gave him an odd look. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, but keep your distance." He turned away with Pastel at his side as they both disappeared into another part of the cave into a tunnel. Yogi watched them leave before turning back to where Gareki sat. His black hair was covering his eyes as his body slouched over lazily, like a prisoner with no hope of getting out of jail.

It was also like he was sleeping but Yogi knew he wasn't, not with a shadow beast inside of him. It just seemed unlikely. If he were in the situation he was in right now, he too wouldn't be sleeping. Walking over to him sat down on the ground cross legged. Keeping his distance like he had said he would. Noticing his presence Gareki lifted his head up and his red eyes revealed themselves once more.

A low growl came from his throat. His fangs bared themselves and he started to pull harder on his chains again. He lunged out but was held back by the chains reaching their full length. Yogi eyed his wrists, seeing the red bruises formed from the hard medal pressing against them. It looked painful but Gareki still didn't seem to notice it.

Gareki jerked backwards before lunging for him again but harder this time.

His bruises would become worse if he kept this up. "Gareki stop it, you're going to end up hurting yourself—

Gareki snarling at him. His face twisted into something angry. He pulled back before lunging at him again but as he did a thin trail of ice froze the ground in a rapid growth. But it didn't go far, it stopped a couple inches in front of his legs. But it was close enough to the point where he had to back up again.

Nevertheless Yogi stared at the spiky ice sticking from the ground in surprise. To his eyes the ice appeared more aggressive then what he had seen Gareki do before. At first it had been flat but now it had tiny shards sticking out of it pointing strait at him. He had thought it was going to hit him but luckily it didn't. He looked back up to Gareki before looking at his hands that were clenching tightly. His hands gripping onto the chains and apon his touch the chains slowly grew a trail of ice starting where his hands were. The ice grew until it reached the cave wall where it slowly grew up to the sealing before stopping completely. Gareki breathed heavily as he glared at him.

Yogi brought his eyes back down to his. "Stop it, Gareki."

He kept his glare on him. His breathing coming from his mouth heavily before he lunged forward to attack him but suddenly he cried out painfully before landing on the ground. The ice shards in the ice automatically sinking down where they weren't seen any more.

His eyes widened in surprise. "Gareki?" he moved forward.

"Don't even think about it," said Jiki. Yogi turned away from Gareki to see the warlock stepping into the room with his arms crossed over his chest. "If you touch him now then you're asking for a death wish."

"He's clearly in pain."

"So? That doesn't mean you need to help him." Jiki walked over to him before kneeling down in front of Gareki who was trembling on the floor. "In this case he's only trying to overcome his nightmares, he's fighting right now. He'll rip you apart if you touch him and it's obviously all because of the shadow beast inside him." He stood back up and walked over to his desk where he pulled up a stool and began working on some kind of potion or medicine from the various plants he'd collected.

Yogi sighed as he turned back to Gareki. He watched him tremble before jerking his body upwards. His eyes were wide and the red glow in them flickered revealing his blue-grey iris's. He let out another pained cry before jerking his head the other way, shutting his eyes tightly before reopening them wide with panic.

He pulled on the chains but they still didn't come lose. Yogi hated seeing him this way. But if he was really fighting then he had no other choice but to allow him to. He didn't want to interrupt something like that. But he stayed there by his side watching him until the early hours of morning. He watched him struggle, he heard his cries of pain, terror, and anger. This lasted all the way until the next day in it's afternoon hours meaning half of it had already slipped by.

He sat there with his chin wresting in his palm. Gareki had long sensed calmed down but the shadow beast was still inside of him. Pastel, earlier that morning had informed him that the wound on his back shoulder had healed completely which had lifted his sprits half way. He had started to feel some what discouraged that Gareki wouldn't be able to fight against the shadow beast and that he would lose. But at least something was looking up.

"Come and eat something." Jiki offered as he set a plate down on a wooden table. Yogi was about to decline but suddenly he felt his stomach growl and he knew he had to eat to keep his strength up. He stood up giving Gareki one last concerned glance before walking over to the table and took a seat before eating the salad laid out in front of him.

"You look tired. "Pastel pointed out.

He nodded. "I am, but I'm fine."

"You know as soon as Gareki wakes up we need to get back on our trip to Eva's Castle, don't you? I think you should wrest while you still can."

Yogi shook his head. "I didn't think that far ahead, I've been too occupied with watching him. But are you sure that's a good idea, that we should just leave once he wakes up. What if he's weak?" He popped a tomato in his mouth as he chewed.

"Well. . . we could always wait depending on if Jiki wants us to stay or not." They both looked towards Jiki who turned to them apon hearing his name. He placed the glass down he was holding. "The chances are that he will be weak once he wakes up. I'll offer you to stay here one more night or if you want to leave then he can wrest for a few hours before you head out."

"Thank you," Yogi said before turning back around to his food. "It's settled then we're staying here for another night. I just need to make sure he's fully wrested."

"But what about you wanting to get to the Realm Gates, not to mention getting out of Lim Fay. I thought you didn't want to stay underground any longer."

Yogi sighed. "Yeah. . . I know I said that but I have to at least make sure he's fully okay before we move on. The last thing I want is for him to collapse on our trip, so it'd be smart to allow him to wrest now. Believe me when I'm saying this to you. It's a hard choice because I want to get back home too but I just can't allow one person in this group to be weak when we had a chance to allow him wrest."

Pastel nodded. "Agreed. But I still think you should get wrest of your own."

Yogi nodded and after he was finished eating he slept on the couch that was near Gareki just in case he woke up and then he could be informed quickly. It didn't take him long to fall asleep and dream of other things.

He dreamed of a bright light slowly coming closer to him before it stopped above him. The world around him was empty and colorless. Everything was black and white but slightly foggy. He was laying on the ground staring lazily at his surroundings.

It all looked familiar to him but he couldn't figure it out.

"Yogi?" Spoke a soft voice, it sounded female. Yogi blinked before pushing himself up in a sitting position, looking around until his eyes landed on the bright light above him. He lifted a hand to his eyes to block some of the brightness. But after a few seconds he spread his fingers to get a glimpse of the bright light.

He saw it growing bigger until the point where he saw large hands coming out of it. Arms came next and then a beautiful women's face appeared. Long, flowing brunette hair fanned over her bare shoulders. Yogi saw the top of her white dress peaking out from the bright light as well. Her eyes were closed before they slowly opened to reveal dark violate iris's staring down at him.

Her pink lips pulled into a smile before crossing her arms over her chest. "Hello Yogi."

He dropped his hand back down to his side before smiling back up at her. "Hi Eden."

"I've been watching you ever since our last meeting with one another and all I can say is well done."

Yogi gave her a slightly confused look. "I don't know what I've done to deserve that."

Her smiled widened. "You saved him, although I do feel rather bad that my angels won't be feeding on your Avatar friend, but it's fine. There are more people in this world who have passed away and will be coming up to the Heaven Gate soon enough. So congratulations, you win."

Yogi opened his mouth feeling a loss of words come to mind before he found what to say. "I don't understand though. Gareki still hasn't gotten his soul back so how have I won?"

"You'll see once you wake up. As of now this is a farewell and before I forget. . . She leaned down to him, "You're journey to the Realm Gates won't be long now and that's all the more reason to tell that Avatar how you feel before this trip of yours is all over and before you won't get the chance."

Yogi stood there speechless. He watched as Eden disappeared back into the bright light and the world around him disappeared as well. She was right but he wasn't sure if he had worked up enough courage to tell him yet. He slowly closed his eyes falling back to sleep. The next thing he knew he heard Pastel calling his name.

He snapped his eyes open to see the cat standing on his chest, staring down at him. "What is it?" He asked sitting up quickly.

Pastel turned to Gareki who had his head turned up to the sealing as a dark shadow left his throat, his eyes were shut tightly as the shadow beast pulled itself out of his body disappearing in thin air letting out a scream as it vanished. After it had disappeared Gareki weakly dropped his head down to his chest.

So this is what Eden had meant. He thought before getting off the couch and stood next to Jiki who was standing right in front of Gareki.

Suddenly the pentagon disappeared on his stomach and a bright blue light outlined his body. "What's happening?" He asked.

"He's regaining his magic and his soul is restoring itself. He won the fight between him in the shadow beast."Jiki Explained as he kept an eye on Gareki Yogi did as well. He crossed his arms over his chest as he stood there waiting and watching till something else happened and finally it did.

Gareki lifted his head, slowly opening his eyes and once he did Yogi saw that they were glowing white instead of red. His tattoos started to glow white as well along his arms and chest. Yogi guessed this was another faze of getting his magic as well as his soul restored.

And just when he thought this the atmosphere grew colder and there was a sense of powerful magic in the air just like he had felt coming from Gareki before his soul had been half taken. He was becoming stronger again. Gareki's glowing eyes slowly dimed down until his blue-grey iris's appeared, he stared at them for a passing second before he fell backwards fainting.


	43. The Voice That Didn't Speak It's Feeling

**Sorry for taking long to update but if you haven't already read my message then I should tell you I'm moving into a new house so I'm currently packing up. Thank you for understanding. (:**

 **Music Choice—Castle—Halsey**

 **Sick Of All These People Talking**

 **Sick Of All This Noise**

 **Tired Of All These Cameras Flashing**

 **Sick Of Being Poised**

* * *

Yogi sat there on the ground crossed legged and crossed armed, hours passing by, waiting and watching all over again for the next result of Gareki waking up. Half the day had already gone by and now he was sure the moon had replaced the sun once more for the next day to come. This would be the second night he would be staying up watching over him.

He studied Gareki's face as he laid on the ground asleep with temporary clothing on that belonged to Jiki's wardrobe. Jiki had told him earlier that when Gareki woke up he could choose his own choice of clothing before they left to continue their trip.

The dimly lit lamp next to him allowed him to see the red marks on Gareki's wrists. He placed his chin in the palm of his hand, looking at the bruises that were caused by the cuffs that had been cutting around his skin. The small injuries were healing quickly though and he guessed it was because Gareki had his full magic back. He could still feel it coursing off of him in small waves. Cold waves at that, but he didn't mind it. His own body was warm enough to be unaffected by the frigidness. Plus, it was a reminder that his soul had been restored.

One side of his mouth pulled up into a small smile. It felt good that everything turned out alright with him. He was right to not give up hope on saving his life and now he had accomplished the goal and he couldn't wait to see the reaction Gareki would have once he explained the good news to him. But as of now, it was time to focus on other important things.

Getting out of Lim fay. . .The next step would be Eva's castle. They had already come up with the idea of explaining to her all they had been through in hopes that she would let them pass through her castle so they could get out of Lim Fay. But she was over protective of her treasure which automatically made him think of her as being a very hard person to reason with. Especially since she had something she wanted to protect away from anyone that came near her castle. She was most likely going to kill them on sight. So was it really worth telling her if she wasn't going to listen to them anyway?

"Shouldn't you be sleeping?" Came a voice.

Yogi blinked before slowly looking to his left to see Pastel sitting there. He kept sneaking up on him when his mind was else where. He made a note to himself to pay more attention to his surroundings.

He dropped his hand away from his chin, placing it into his lap. "I know I should be, but I just can't." His eyes averted back to Gareki.

Pastel moved his eyes over to Gareki as well before eyeing Yogi again. He shook his head. "I know how you feel about him but that doesn't mean you have to watch him every second. He's safe now. His soul is restored and his magic is strong again."

Yogi thought about that. Yeah his magic was becoming strong again and his soul was restored so why was he still up, watching him? This whole time he had been watching him and he didn't know why. He leaned back against the back of the couch before crossing his arms once more.

"It's not like I'm worried. I just can't stop looking over him. . . if that makes any sense."

"It doesn't. I guess you just feel the need to watch him as much as you can without being afraid he'll ask why you're doing so. You know it'll be awkward for you if you do that while he's awake especially with how intimidating he is. He'll definitely sense your eyes on him."

Yogi felt slightly embarrassed as the thought played itself in his head and he lost his smile. He sighed and stood up. "I should be sleeping." He agreed. "We have a day of walking to do tomorrow and maybe another encounter of a Spiritual Beast. I'm going to need all the strength I can get." He turned to walk around the couch but stopped himself as something came to mind that he wanted to know before going to sleep. He had to know or else it would keep him up the rest of the night.

He turned to Pastel who had jumped up on the upper part of the couch and sat himself there. "I knew you'd have something on your mind that you wanted to ask."

Yogi sat down on one of the couch cushions before turning to look at him. "How'd you know?"

"I've been sitting here watching you for a moment and the look on your face spoke the obvious that you were troubled about something."

"Well, you're right," Yogi admitted.

"What's on your mind?"

"Eva. . ." Was all he said as he looked down at his lap in thought. "What about her?" Pastel jumped down till he was sitting next to him.

"You're the one who said that we should talk to her. Explain to her why we need to pass though her castle in order to get to Dampis."

"Yes, I recall saying that. But I also said for you to explain to her what you've been through in your own realm. The chaos that happened."

Yogi shook his head, continuing to look down at his lap. "Pastel, she won't believe that," he said firmly. "You said it yourself, she's serious about keeping her treasure safe. She'll think we're thieves on the first sight of us coming to her castle or should I say _**'me'**_ considering everyone takes one look at me and then I'm an Outsider with bad intentions." He half complained trying to stress his troubled thoughts out.

"She may be intimidating and stern at first but she has emotions and I'm sure she'll feel pity for you once you explain your story to her."

Yogi sighed. "I still can't believe that. She wouldn't possibly want to believe what I'd have to say, is there some other way for us to get out of Lim Fay that doesn't involve crossing her castle?"

"No. Her castle is the only way we've got. I've been here long enough to know that. I believe I've told you that before." Yogi was silent for a few passing seconds before speaking again. "Then I guess we have no other choice. I'd better pray that she listens to what I have to say." He reluctantly agreed.

Pastel nodded once. "I know we can get passed this, have a little faith."

"I've got all the faith I can get hoping that it'll get us through this." Yogi claimed."But that doesn't mean I don't have my doubts about this plan as well. I'm going to keep cautious once we reach her castle, just in case we get fired at."

"I expect both you and Gareki shall have your guards up once we reach it." He jumped down from the couch and sauntered off towards a tunnel where the bed rooms were located. He stopped and turned his head to him. "Try to get yourself some sleep this time." He turned back around and disappeared into the darkness where the lamp light didn't reach far enough to see.

Yogi leaned down and untied his boots before lifting his legs up onto the couch as he faced the sealing. He slowly closed his eyes and almost immediately drifted to sleep. The troubles he had been thinking about disappeared as he dreamed. A few minutes passed before the amulet on his chest slowly glowed into a gradual golden light.

A female ghostly figure appeared in a golden hue. Her blonde hair falling down her back as her violate eyes stared down at her son. She floated forward just as her husband appeared behind her following her till they reached Yogi.

She reached forward and caressed her hand along his jaw. Her eyes examined his face before moving down to the amulet. She picked it up and held it in her palm, half of it staring back at her as it continued to glow. "I wish he didn't have to go through such troublesome matters, I fear that he will not make it getting back to our realm," she said sincerely. Her husband wrapped his arm around her in comfort.

"He's been taught well and he's lived up till now. He's proven he can save our kingdom. He's more stronger then you know, Helena. He'll make it back and save everyone as long as we give him our guidance by staying inside the amulet."

Helena slowly placed the amulet back onto her son's chest and watched him carefully as he slept."I wish there were more we could do then just be with him inside this amulet." She spoke. "But I know it's the only way for us to stay with him, so I am thankful."

Talios smiled down at her. "This is all we can do for him now but wait a bit longer and I'm sure we'll be able to help him."

Helena nodded. "Then I will wait." Both of them reached down and touched the amulet soon disappearing inside of it once more.

The next morning Yogi opened his eyes. He slowly looked around at his surroundings. But blinked a few times because his vision was blurry. He sat up on the couch rubbing his eye before looking around again.

He saw Jiki sitting at his desk sorting out the various plants he had collected possibly up to making another potion or medicine. Pastel was sitting on the desk watching the warlock as they spoke in conversation.

He minded himself before looking over the couch where Gareki was supposed to be, but found that he was gone. He looked around the room confused. Was he already up?

"Your friends out side." Jiki pointed out. Yogi turned around and saw that they had stopped their conversation and were now looking at him.

"It's about time you woke up, you were out for quite a while." Pastel said.

Just when he said that Yogi remembered the presence of his parents being near him while he was sleeping. Either it was a dream or it really happened as in a vision perhaps. "It's only because I stayed up so late last night." He informed before putting on his boots and tying them up.

"Of course you were," Jiki said recalling him sitting up watching Gareki. He turned back around to his desk to continue what he was doing. Pastel continued with their conversation. He finished tying his boots before standing up and walked over to the door before opening it, stepped out making sure he shut it behind him.

He wondered what Gareki was doing out here? He looked at the opening of the cave to see it was foggy in the Ever Grove making it some what hard to make out objects, but they probably wouldn't be leaving now which would give it time to clear up. Some of the fog had even come inside the cave but it was low at his ankles making it clear for him to see.

He didn't see Gareki in this part of the cave but there was another section that he hadn't checked yet so he must've been down there. Moving away from Jiki's door he walked further into the cave.

He could hear drops of water hit against water making it echo against the sealing. He looked around the cave examining the hard walls he passed. The sealing became more high up the further he walked. Crossing his arms over his chest he suddenly felt the sensation of a cold breeze brushing pass his arms. It became colder the moment he rounded a corner. He looked down at his arms as he felt a small stabbing at his skin there. He noticed ice was forming and he quickly slapped it off.

 _Whoa, that hadn't happened before_. He thought in surprise. Gareki was definitely near and his magic was stronger than before. But he hadn't thought it would freeze him. He wiped off the left over ice that had formed on his skin before walking into a big opening where he heard the sound of crumbling rocks.

He stopped and stood on top of a small cliff looking down at Gareki in the wide circular open space below. He was holding his glaive and the blade part was glowing blue as he fired another blast at a stack of rocks; instantly turning them into tiny pebbles of ice as they flew to the ground.

Yogi looked at the previous rock stacks he had clearly been firing at and they were in the same state. Minutes passed as he watched Gareki twirl his weapon doing fighting stances as he trained with himself. He was really good but Yogi expected that since he was from a kingdom where fighting was a natural thing for him.

Next he watched as he walked into the center of the open space, setting down his weapon before kneeling down on one knee. He then carefully placed one of his hands on the ground, his palm was flat on the hard surface. Closing his eyes, he stayed still for a few passing seconds before ice grew over the ground where his hand was. It gradually spread inch by inch until it stopped a distance in front of him.

Opening his eyes he stood up, the ice at the bottom of his boots. His hand outstretched towards the ground. Apon a closer inspection Yogi saw that his hand was outlined a glowing blue. Gareki did a pulling motion with his magic. Doing this suddenly caused spikes of ice to jolt out from the iced floor, he made them grow taller and more width added to them as they grew but this time he used both of his hands. Yogi looked at the sharp spikes as they grew all the way up to the sealing of the cave.

It was beautiful but some what wicked and fierce in a way they were shaped. Yogi lifted his hand to the wall next to him placing it there. He took a step forward moving it against the cold surface before cringing as another stabbing sensation broke him from his distraction. He pulled his hand away from the wall and looked at his palm only to see a small cut in the center where he had slid it accidentally on a sharp edge of a rock. It began bleeding slightly.

His eyes looked back up to see that Gareki had paused. His arms dropped back down to his sides. "I know you're there, Yogi." His voice echoed against the walls. Yogi dropped his hand in small surprise that he had found out without looking his way. It must've been from his blood.

He dropped down from the small cliff and walked over to him. As he got closer he noticed Gareki's attire was different. Dark red Dr. Martens, black skinny jeans, a dark grey diagonal haute big hood with a dark red T shirt underneath. The hood was over his head as his back faced him. But as he got closer Gareki turned to look at him, reaching a hand back and pulled the hood from his naturally messy black hair.

"Did you guess it was me from my blood?" Yogi asked as he came to a stop in front of him.

"Clearly, I already know the scent of it." Gareki replied flatly. "What are you doing here?" he eyed him up and down before looking back to his face. "Jiki changed your clothes too."

"It's better than what it was before." Yogi shrugged. "But I should be asking you the same thing, what are you doing here?"

Gareki bent down and picked up his weapon. "That should already be clear to you. I'm testing out my magic that you helped me get back as well as my soul being restored." He gave him an unexpected small smile. It lasted for a few seconds before it disappeared as soon as it had come. So this was Gareki's reaction to realizing he wasn't going to die. It wasn't much but Yogi could tell he was much more happier and shocked on the inside just by looking into his eyes. It just wasn't his personality to show it in a big way. But it was fine, that was just the way he was made.

"So how do you feel, do you remember anything?"

Gareki shook his head. "Honestly, no. I can't remember a thing that happened. Everything just blacked out on me once I was hit by that rock the Chimaera threw at me. The next thing I know is that I didn't feel a hollowness in my chest any more and it feels like I'm stronger again. Kind of like a feeling of being reborn, I guess." Yogi studied him and noticed the thoughtful and grateful expression on his face as his eyes looked distantly some where else. "Pastel told me everything that happened though when I was out cold." His eyes averted back to his violate ones again. "He also told me you were being some kind of guardian angel watching me when I was recovering."

Yogi felt a small blush run over his cheeks and he held up his hands defensively. "Um, Pastel was just—

"Thank you." The words cut him off from his fumbling and he paused staring at the Avatar in front of him in surprise. Wasn't he going to think it was weird for him to do such a thing or be annoyed in some way? All Yogi could say was "Why?"

"This counts as another time you saved my life, so I'm thanking you." He said sincerely. Yogi was surprised by this even though Gareki had thanked him before it still came as a shock to him but finally he found his voice. "You're welcome."

Gareki turned back to the giant shards of ice he had made. "I already know I've been sleeping for two days I feel like I've wasted time for us to be moving forward to the other places we need to go. But it's fine. I'm sure Vileus hasn't gotten too far in his corruption. . . we're in different realms anyway." He glanced Yogi's way. "Your realm runs on different timing then mine."

Yogi frowned in confusion. He took a step forward. "Wait, what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that your realm has different timing then this one. I've wasted two days here sleeping but in your realm only one day had passed. Time in your realm runs slowly. I thought you knew this."

He slowly shook his head in bewilderment. "No."

His mind suddenly drifted to other things and he realized that so many days had passed since he had gotten here in the Arcial Realm, would it already be too late to stop Vileus's corruption when he did get back to his own realm? Why hadn't this thought crossed his mind before?

"So basically what you're saying is that every two days that passes by here one day goes by in my realm?" He asked. Gareki nodded. "I honestly thought you knew this already." He repeated.

"No, I didn't, but I'm glad you told me." He then remembered the map. "Can I take a look at the map for a second? I need to know how much longer we need to go."

Gareki lifted his hand in front of him before making the map appear with his magic then handed it to Yogi. He unrolled it and examined the places they had already been to, they were marked off. He scoured the places that hadn't been marked off.

The places they were supposed to be going next would've been the ocean where a boat dock was located then a island where a temple was located and that would've been the end of their trip if they hadn't of fallen down here and met Pastel then they would have already been to the Realm Gates by now. His violate eyes looked into Gareki's blue-grey ones. "Is this. . . really it?" He asked quietly in a disheartened way, some of his words losing their emphasis as more surprise took over. Gareki nodded confused by his behavior. "I thought you wanted to go home?"

"I do but. . . there's something else I. . . " Yogi looked down. Eden had been right, he didn't have much more time to tell Gareki how he really felt. He needed more time to work up the courage and that wasn't an easy thing to do. What was he going to do now?

"I just. . . "

This was harder to say then he had thought it would be. He knew he was messing up by not telling him but he just couldn't. The fear of losing the connection they had made him not want to admit anything. What would happen if he did say it? Gareki wouldn't like him back, not in that way. There was no way Gareki had feelings like that for him.

Gareki cocked his head slightly wondering if he was going to continue with what he was going to say. "Yogi?"

The blonde looked up. "Yeah?"

"What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing, I'm fine." He lied. "I was just thinking about these last two places we need to go to."

Gareki eyed him before shaking the odd feeling he felt off. "Okay well, those two places that are left on the map could've been the only places we needed to go but we still have more to do. We need to cross Dampis and get to Kiridian Empire to drop off the prince Nai's cat and then we can continue on our own."

"Then we should get going, if you're up for it," Yogi said, putting on a fake smile.

Gareki shrugged. "Last time I checked, we all wanted to get out of Lim Fay. So of course I'm up for it."

Yogi nodded, handing the map back to him. Gareki grabbed it making it disappear in thin air. They both exited the room.


	44. Purpose

Gareki slowly slid a thumb over his bottom lip, wiping away the access blood he had just taken from Yogi's neck. Yogi inhaled slowly from his parted lips as he rubbed a careful hand on the skin the Avatar had penetrated with his fangs. The slight aching and stinging sensation dialed down as he continued to caress it. The small holes began to close up. He could feel it healing again like it did every time he would sink his teeth there.

Strange how something painful and deep could heal so quickly.

He looked at Gareki seeing the thin slits in his eyes dilate half a centimeter wider as he licked away the blood on his thumb. Gareki moved his eyes towards his violate ones and once he did Yogi froze as well as the world around them.

He felt small goose bumps roll up his arms at the cold look he gave him. But there was no hatred or anger behind it like it had been on the day of their first meeting. It was natural and a normal everyday stare that portrayed no dislikable emotion.

Time around them went into slow motion. He saw Gareki blink before shifting his weight on one leg. His eyes stayed on him through the strands of his black hair. Yogi felt his eyes roam down to his lips and the next thing he knew he saw one side of them pull upwards into a smirk and an echoing laugh rang out through his ears. It didn't sound humorless it was opposite from that, it was joyful and a sound he never thought he'd hear from a person like this. He felt like he was dreaming and he knew he had to be hallucinating all of this.

It was fine though. . .

He heard his name being called out distantly over and over again before he suddenly snapped out of his delusion. He blinked before his eyes widened in realization. He was brought back to reality.

He found Jiki, Pastel and Gareki staring at him with odd looks on their faces.

Dark eyebrows creased in confusion. "Why are you staring at me like that?" Gareki asked cautiously.

Yogi shook his head slowly. "I wasn't, was I. . . s-sorry." He fumbled, feeling embarrassed. Pastel was right, he was intimidating when you stared. But he mostly felt awkward for doing so.

"You plunge your fangs into him and the next thing you know he's in his own little world," said Pastel with a laugh.

Yogi scratched the back of his head not finding it funny if anything he felt embarrassed. "Sorry. . . . were we talking about something?" Gareki kept his eyes on him carefully. "Yeah, Jiki was warning us about the Spiritual Beast in the Ever Grove and how we should be more careful. Apparently there's a few more creatures that are like that Chimaera we fought." He explained.

"And you're going to have to keep an eye out on the enchantment that's happening with the vegetation." Jiki warned. Gareki crossed his arms and turned his eyes away from Yogi to look at him instead. "What?"

"All of you are headed in the direction of Eva's castle and since you're headed there then you're all going to eventually come across the enchanted vegetation I'm telling you about. I'm saying that you should all be careful, there's a lot of odd things that's happening with it. It's alive, basically."

"And it will try and kill us." Gareki stated.

"Exactly. I would tell you to head in a different direction but there's only one if you're headed to queen Eva's."

Gareki shrugged. "Obviously." He muttered before eyeing Yogi once more. "I'm sure we can handle it considering one of us has an ability to control plants."

Yogi gave him an unsure expression but Gareki just turned his head away to where Jiki sat talking to Pastel about the enchanted Ever Grove.

"Okay, we understand. We'll be careful." Pastel stood up on all fours leaping from Jiki's desk to the floor next to Gareki. "We should be on our way before night falls again. We have a lot of important things to take care of."

All three of them walked out the door of Jiki's hidden home before turning back to him giving him gratitude for everything he had done thus far.

"You're welcome, but I don't want to see your faces again. Only because none of you should be down here. This place is for bad people not the good like you three are."

"Agreed," said Pastel.

They had long since left Jiki's home about 2 hours ago and were now finally back on the path to continue their trip to Eva's castle. Half the day had already gone by the time they left so now it was nearing nightfall.

"So what's he doing down here anyway? Don't tell me that he wants Eva's treasure?" Questioned Gareki, breaking the long silence.

It took Pastel a second to figure out who he was asking about but soon figured out he was mentioning Jiki. "He's been down here longer then me. He purposely got himself stuck down here in order to be alone to work on experimentations with plant life and to study some of these Spiritual Beasts."

"Oh, I knew it couldn't be for a reason to steal. He doesn't look like he'd want to take anything," Gareki continued.

 _That explained all those jars of medicines and potions_. Yogi thought. "But how does he eat?"

"He hunts. But not the Spiritual Beast, he hunts real animals. The Spiritual Beast are just like ghosts so I doubt they'd taste like anything."

Yogi nodded, thinking further about Jiki. Once again he was grateful towards the warlock for helping them. And despite the man disrespecting him apon their first meeting he had to admit to himself that he was glad the warlock hadn't said no to helping them, Gareki would be dead if he had. Yogi averted his eyes over to the cat Pastel. Maybe he had aided them because of Pastel? He did say they used to live together for a while so it was likely that Jiki trusted him more and figured that he and Gareki would be okay to trust at least a little bit at the time.

Whatever, everything was fine now. That's all that mattered.

He looked away from Pastel and brought his eyes to his right, looking over the border of the stone wall. The trees were tall in the Ever Grove which made it seem like they were always shielding something away with their height and thick leaves, but there was an opening and in that opening he saw an outline of a large door that belonged to queen Eva's moat. He knew that was the entrance to her castle. But he wanted a closer look.

Yogi stopped in their trek and climbed the stone wall. Climbing till his head and shoulders came above the wall. Making him tall enough to get a better look at what he had seen.

Gareki saw him from the corner of his eye and stopped to turn and look at him. "What are you doing?"

Yogi let his question hang in the air unanswered as he kept an eye on Eva's castle becoming half way distracted. "I can see it. We're closer now," he said quietly.

Pastel stopped walking and noticed Yogi. "Eva's castle?"

"Yes." He replied.

Gareki climbed the wall as well but didn't see the castle because so many trees were blocking his view. "It's not there. Maybe you saw something else." He lifted a questionable eyebrow.

Yogi looked at him before moving to the right, away from him. "Try looking where I was standing." He offered as he looked back through the small opening where he saw the entrance. He could still see it from this point of view. Gareki crossed over and stood where he had been standing. He lowered his head as he looked through the opening Yogi was currently looking and there he saw her castle too.

"Never mind." Gareki corrected himself. He leaned in slightly trying to get a closer look. Both of them not realizing their faces close proximity with each other, almost cheek to cheek. Both of their arms nearly touching.

But they both soon noticed because of the heat and cold radiating off of their bodies. Both of them turned and nearly kissed and because of that Gareki's heart lurched in his chest from the shock of it and accidently froze his own and Yogi's arm causing them to be attached to one another by strong ice.

Yogi now surprised by this lost his balance and fell backwards, pulling Gareki with him onto the ground.

Pastel cringed as they fell before he walked over to them and couldn't help but grin. "Oh my, I never thought you two would get so _**close**_ in this way." He laughed, "Do you need you privacy?"

Gareki opened his eyes and he blew out an irked sigh causing black strands of hair to fly away from his eyes. He then tried to sit up only to be pulled back down to his back. He looked at his arm that had ice attaching both him and Yogi together. "It was just an accident. Stop joking like that."

Pastel stopped laughing and his smile turned into a smirk. "Well then, I wonder what caused you to make an accident such as this? You don't really make mistakes often so I doubt you'll start now for no reason." He jested.

Gareki glowered at him before turning back to the ice keeping Yogi and himself attached. "Remember what we talked about Pastel. _**Don't**_ get on my bad side, you know what happened so don't act like you didn't see it." His voice came out deep and unpleasant making Pastel think about what he had been saying.

The cat paused and laughed innocently, suddenly becoming nervous. "Right, I'll keep that in mind."

Yogi lifted himself up in a sitting position same as Gareki did to keep himself from being dragged. He looked down at the ice examining it. This was an accident. He saw the shocked look on Gareki's face before he had done this. He felt slightly embarrassed though. Only because both of their lips were so close together and if he had moved a centimeter closer then they'd be connecting. He imagined what that would feel like but immediately pushed the thought from his mind. What was he thinking today? "I could melt it." He suggested in an attempt to distract his mind.

"Go ahead," Gareki said, "but make it quick."

"Okay." He closed his eyes concentrating his thoughts on his magic. He never thought he'd be using his own body heat to melt ice. Mainly because he hadn't thought he'd be doing it. He placed his hand on the ice. It was cold under his palm and fingers but soon heat flowed through his whole hand as he kept it pressed firmly against it. It didn't take long for drops of water to fall onto the moss beneath them as the ice melted with each passing second.

It's size decreasing tremendously. The sound of sizzling filled his ears as he kept his magic focused. He felt the air touch his skin as the rest of the ice melted away from both their arms. He no longer heard the sound of melting ice. Opening his eyes he made sure that it was all off and it was.

Gareki pulled his arm away, grabbing it with his other hand turning it from side to side in his grasp. "Sorry about that," he said quietly as he thought about what happened between them. He shook his head from the way he had reacted to their closeness minutes ago.

Yogi paused and gave him a questionable look. "For freezing my arm?"

Gareki stood up before answering. "Yeah. It must've been uncomfortable for you since it's so cold. I should've controlled my magic better than that."

Yogi shook his head picking himself up to his feet as well before rubbing off his pants. "It didn't really feel harmful so you shouldn't apologize."

No I should apologize there was no time for making mistakes was what he wanted to say but instead he said, "Okay. . . " his voice came out weaker than he wanted it to. Yogi glanced at him wondering why he had said it like that.

"Are you—

"We should go." His voice was more assertive now then the soft voice he had a second ago. He moved past Yogi and continued forward with Pastel behind him soon catching up to walk in front to lead him away from traps if there were any. Yogi followed behind wondering why Gareki had changed his demeanor that quickly?

Was it because they had almost kissed? . . .That had to be it.

Yogi sat there in the center of the small dead end they had found during their trek. It was squared shaped different from the last one they had spent the night in.

Yeah, it was night time. It had fallen quickly once again. He had decided to make a fire even though the vegetation around them was bright enough to see he felt more secure when there was a fire near him. It resembled the sun in a way that made him feel comfortable while asleep. Gareki didn't mind, he stayed in his secluded corner with his legs crossed and both of his arms placed on top of them as he eyes were closed. It looked like he was meditating which Yogi didn't know he could do but if he was in the middle of focus then he wouldn't bother him.

Pastel was off somewhere fruit hunting again. He wondered if the cat ever ate anything? Or did he just not need to eat because he was magically made that way? If so then that was some strange magic and he sort of envied it. He didn't want to feel his stomach growl uncomfortably in hunger all the time. It would be nice to take a break from that without being hungry at all. He could focus on a lot more if that were so.

He stared at the fire thinking about the next day that would come by. If he was correct he had spent a total of 9 days in the Arcial Realm and once tomorrow rolled by then that would count as 10 meaning 5 days would've passed back in his own realm. Nearly a weak. A lot can happen within that time.

His stare turned into a glare. They were getting closer to Eva's castle but still they had other places to go after passing her. Dampis Desert, Kiridian Empire, The Boat Docks and lastly, The Realm Gate Temple. And all of those would take more days to get to.

He sighed placing his arms behind him onto the ground as he leaned his weight against them, staring up at the sealing of the glowing cave. More and more time was being wasted and he honestly felt like getting up and continuing their trip even when it was night time where he was supposed to be getting wrest. He couldn't keep pushing himself or else he'd end up getting hurt in the process, but more seriously then any of the injuries he had recently gotten.

"Stressing about something?" Came Gareki's voice breaking him out of his thoughts. Yogi looked down finding him in the shadows, his eyes now open.

He looked away from him back to the sealing. "I am." He admitted quietly. Gareki stared at him before looking down at his lap, inhaling slowly before sighing. "It's about your realm isn't it?"

He looked at him slightly surprised he had caught on. "How'd you know?"

The Avatar breathed a laugh through his nose. "It's all you worry about and plus. . . I can read you like a book sometimes."

Yogi nodded. "It's that easy huh?"

"Yeah."

"Well I'm just worried because I think we're wasting time. I've been thinking about what you told me earlier, back when we were in Jiki's cave about time being different between this realm and mine. 4 days have passed now in my realm and once tomorrow comes and goes then 5 will have gone by. I'm starting to doubt we're going to make it in time to—

"You have sisters, correct?" Gareki interrupted.

He nodded wondering why the sudden question.

Gareki crossed his arms his face suddenly turning serious.

"You have two deceased parents and two sisters who are alive stuck in Vileus's castle—possibly— and you're here talking as if you don't have hope anymore. The same hope you've been throwing in my face ever since you've gotten here in my realm. Don't speak to me about having doubts. You were the one that said you'd do anything to get back home, you're the one who kept moving forward during every dilemma we've come across telling me to do the same. And you've fought your way to be alive sitting here right now talking to me. You've done all that only to say that you're doubting we're going to make it? Unbelievable. I never thought I'd hear this from you." He said sternly.

He was disappointed and Yogi hadn't thought that the disappointment would be pointed at himself. Gareki was right about everything though and he honestly wasn't surprised that he had made him disappointed because now that he realized what he had been saying he was feeling disappointed in himself too.

"Give yourself a chance and don't lose the things that are important to you. Isn't that what you taught me as being a prince?" He continued.

Yogi didn't say anything. Don't lose the things important to you. He had already lost his parents and at the time he couldn't save them but now that his sisters were in danger and possibly still alive he would have a chance this time. He couldn't waist it, not with doubting himself. Vileus's time for corruption wasn't going to be a success, not a full one anyway. Not if he had anything to do about it.

His henchman may have not come to hunt him down only because he was underground. But he was sure once he was out of Lim Fay they'd be coming all over again. That was the only reason why they hadn't come for him.

Gareki was telling him something important something that he needed to learn this time. It had worked for the most part, and he would continue working on it

"Gareki. . . ?" He asked.

His blue-grey eyes stayed on him till he said something else.

"Thank you. . . "

He had felt like he was at a loss but now he had found his purpose again and he deserved so much more then a thank you.


	45. Taken

**Music Choice—Pieces—Red**

 **I'm Here Again A Thousand Miles Away From You**

 **A Broken Mess, Just Scattered Pieces**

 **Of Who I Am. I Tried So Hard**

 **Thought I Could Do This On My Own**

 **Thanks for 1,772 views! (:**

* * *

Yogi stuffed the small piece of fruit into his mouth before chewing. A burst of sweetness splashed onto his tongue. It had been his last fruit for the night Pastel had collected. He felt full as he stared into the flames of the fire sitting a blaze in front of him. He chewed before swallowing.

The feeling of doubt probably wasn't going to take over his mind again but if it did he would remember what Gareki had told him. Never doubt had been a lesson. One of the first lessons Gareki had ever taught him and he was thankful.

Yogi knew exactly what would happen if he would 've been sucked into the feelings of regret and discouragement. He would have given up—or at least loose confidence in himself. That wouldn't be smart, not in this situation. He would need all the confidence and motivation he could get.

He could feel Gareki's eyes staring at him in his secluded corner away from the fire. He wondered to himself if he was still upset? He realized that was an obvious answer, so why was he even asking? Gareki had kind of blew a fuse at him which had now been 10 minutes ago. The whole talk about him doubting that they would make it to the Realm Gates had upset him more then Yogi knew. But ever since Pastel returned the Avatarian had gone quiet, staying in that corner staring at him for the longest of moments he had ever done.

Yogi didn't know if he should mind it or not. But he would admit he felt awkward with those cold slit eyes on him, burning a hole where they stared, causing the nerves inside of him to twist anxiously.

He felt the stare turn into a glare. But he could understand why Gareki was upset. Yogi had been the spokesperson, a positive one to him. But what good was a positive spokesperson if he talked negative. Completely going against everything he had said. Everything he had said about moving forward and not giving in to the problems they would face on the trek ahead of them.

He had gone against those words. So yes, he did understand what Gareki was feeling.

"You two are awfully quiet." Pastel broke the silence. "Did I miss anything?"

"No." Gareki's voice was flat. He finally looked away from Yogi crossing his arms over his chest as he closed his eyes disinterestedly.

Yogi glanced at him before looking back to the fire. His distraction and escape from the sudden tension in the air. Pastel apparently felt it because the next words that came out of his mouth was obviously a retreat to move some where else away from them.

"Well then," he started, looking back and forth at both of them. "I'll be heading to bed then. It's been a long day and we have more ahead of us tomorrow. I'll see you in the morning." With that said he got up and pounced onto a near by tree and quickly climbed it, disappearing into the thick neon orange leaves. He left them alone to face the tension eating away the space between them.

It was clear that Gareki was a little angry with him because of what he had said, of course. But he hadn't thought it would impact him like this. It was more meant for himself rather then him. He waited a moment with more silence filling in the atmosphere around them. He didn't want this to last.

Moving away from the fire he walked over to Gareki. Once he reached him he turned around placing his back against the stone wall and slowly slid down until he sat on the ground next to him. Gareki didn't make a move. He sat there minding himself with his eyes closed still, along with his arms crossed over his chest.

Yogi glimpsed his way before looking down at his own hands. He pulled up his left leg and placed his left elbow on top of his knee, letting his arm hang there as he introspected what he was going to say. Words came into his head but right as they did he would kick them out, thinking: that wasn't good or maybe I shouldn't say this. It was a lot of back and forth. Finally he just decided to say something to break the silence Giving up the idea of coming up with something good to say.

"You're mad at me?" He asked quietly, turning to look at the side of Gareki's face.

His eyes opened and averted in his direction to take a glance at him from the corner of his eye before averting them strait ahead. "You could say that but the correct term would be disappointed." He corrected, sounding dour.

Yogi perceived his words feeling as though this would be something his mother would say to him if he did something to disappoint her, only if she had said it anyway, she hadn't. He was normally good when younger. He suddenly felt like a kid again but that feeling disappeared in a second. Gareki wasn't his mother. Best not to compare him with her because they were far from similar.

"I know what I said wasn't something I would normally say to you. But don't take it seriously."

Gareki whipped his head around to look at him with a disapproving frown. "How can I not take it seriously?"

"I was only doubting myself."

"Exactly, you were doubting yourself. Even after everything you've said to me it's like you haven't learned from yourself. You tell me not to give up but suddenly you get the feeling to doubt we'll make it to the Realm Gates. You're only going to make yourself afraid to move forward. It disappoints me because I expected more from you."

Yogi nodded. "You're right to have expected more from me. But what I said to you earlier was clearly a mistake. I was feeling discouraged for a moment. But it's over now, I'm not going to say anything like that again."

Blue-grey eyes were skeptical. "You always think about your kingdom, it's already obvious you're going to say it again. I don't want you to have doubts, especially from something as important as this."

"Gareki, it's an emotion, I can't help the emotions that I feel." He defended.

"True, but I know you can do better then this. Not saying that you can't speak to me about the bad things but this is too far. I hate that you just went against everything you've told me." He shook his head. "I'm going to bed." He leaned away from him.

"No wait— Yogi grabbed his shoulder only to feel a quick stabbing at his skin causing him to jerk it away. Gareki turned to him. He saw ice climbing it's way up his forearm before stopping at his elbow. He sat up quickly and grabbed Yogi's arm before he pulled it away completely. He looked surprised, then again they both did.

"I did it again," Gareki said softly sounding breathless.

". . . It's fine," Yogi said. He placed his hand on his frozen arm and began melting the ice

Gareki sighed letting go of his arm, dropping his hands into his lap. He looked down at them. "My magic is stronger than before and it's on a level I'm not used to. It's weird." The dour tone in his voice was gone now sounding more in disbelief rather then stern."

"That explains why my skin suddenly get's covered in ice when I'm near you. That didn't happen before." Yogi stated.

"I didn't know I was doing that to you, sorry." He offered.

Yogi shook his head. "It doesn't bother me, just as long as you don't freeze my entire body. You'd definitely end up killing me if you did that."

Gareki continued to stare down at his hands before pulling them into fists then moved his fingers out again. His eyebrows pushed together as he looked up and glared at the fire. "I want to try something I've never done before." He turned to Yogi,"stay here." He pushed himself to his feet and walked 2 feet in front of him.

Yogi watched as he unfroze his arm completely. _What is he doing_? He thought. Gareki lifted his hand in front of himself, looking down at it again. "If it's true that my magic has some how gotten stronger then I might be able to do things that I wasn't able to do before." He turned half way to Yogi and pointed at the fire.

"You don't mind if I try to freeze this do you?"

He shook his head. "I don't mind, I could just start another fire." Gareki turned back around. He was standing near the fire but definitely not close. He was like a piece of ice that if close to scorching heat would melt within seconds. He held one hand towards the flames. His fingers spread apart as the palm of his hand faced the fire. Yogi stared at him expectedly. A small feeling of excitement coursed through his veins. He wanted to see if Gareki could actually do this and if he could then that would be amazing.

Ice and fire were obviously complete opposites but one was stronger. Fire was. So if Gareki were able to freeze it then that would prove to him that his magic had grown stronger. But Yogi already knew fire was going to be difficult to freeze over. But even if Gareki didn't freeze it to him that didn't mean his magic hadn't gotten stronger because it had. Yogi could feel it coursing off his body in strong waves but Gareki didn't notice it.

The air around them grew thick with gelid temperatures and Yogi had to hug himself in order to keep his warm body temperature high. This was the coldest Gareki had ever been. He felt jabs of ice nip at his bare arms before melting away by his hot skin. And this was the warmest his own body had ever been. He hadn't thought he'd need to warm his body up this torrid before. Did it really have to be this cold just for him to freeze fire?

Well fire was very hot, so that question was already answered for him. Gareki's outstretched arm suddenly grew a thin layer of ice starting from his center palm, gradually growing up the long sleeve of his diagonal haute big hood until it came to a stop at his shoulder. In his palm slowly growing bigger was an aqua blue ball of light, snapping with a few charges of electricity.

That was sort of the same technique he had seen queen Larisa, his mother do when he was called to the thrown room to meet her. She had frozen Seth into an ice statue and now Gareki was performing the same spell she had used. He threw it at the fire once it was big enough. Yogi leaned forward expectedly waiting for something to happen. There was this crackling sound from the fire and it wavered from side to side as if wind were hitting against it.

But as he watched and waited nothing else happened. The air around them lowered into it's regular temperature and he no longer needed to warm his skin. Gareki dropped his hand to his side. "It didn't work, I expected that."

Yogi sat back against the wall. "I was hoping your magic would be able to freeze it."

"Apparently not against fire. Fire is still too strong for my magic. Fire will always win against ice. It's too hot. I don't know why I expected anything to happen." He sighed dispiritedly. "I guess I was just hoping my ice magic could take over it. Deep down I knew nothing would change." He blew out a short and quick laugh through his nose and shook his head slowly. "And here I was talking to you about doubting when I'm doing it right now."

He walked back over to him before sitting down. A cold breeze passed Yogi's nose as he breathed, knowing it was from Gareki's close presence. "That's probably not true. I'm sure ice can over come fire. I mean. . . hasn't it ever been done in your kingdom?"

Gareki leaned his head back against the stone wall as he stared upwards at the dome cave sealing. "A very long time ago maybe. Possibly some one did it when I was younger. But I highly doubt it. There isn't a lot of times you see fire in my kingdom since it's too hot for any of us to be near it."

A very long time ago. There was that sentence again. Yogi noticed how Gareki had made it sound like it was ancient history causing the blonde to remember how old he really was despite his 18 year old appearance. "That makes sense. But it's fine, you don't need to test your magic out on fire. There are other ways to test your magical strength."

Gareki slowly shook his head. "No, it isn't actually. Since fire is a strong element then it's only smart to test your own element on something strong as well to see if it can over come it. Fire was the only way to confirm that." He corrected, pausing for a few seconds before laying down his back on the soft moss beneath them.

"We should be going to sleep. It's dumb for us to be up all night doing something like this."

"I don't think it was dumb. You tried something new, that's never dumb, at least in my opinion."

Gareki glanced his way before looking towards the fire again. "Thanks." He suddenly remembered their conversation from earlier. "Hopefully you remember what I told you earlier, about doubting yourself."

Yogi stood up and nodded. "It's stuck inside my memory, I won't forget."

Gareki still had a hint of a skeptical look in his eyes but it disappeared, finally deciding to believe him. Closing his eyes he prepared to fall asleep. Yogi watched him for a second before going back to where he was initially sitting to prepare for sleep as well.

There was a snap that woke him from his slumber. Violate eyes opened looking towards the fire that had burned into ashes of burned wood during his sleep. He moved his eyes in the direction where the noise had come from. It was where a set of dark bushes were lined up in the shadows where the glowing Ever Grove's light didn't reach far enough for him to see. But the moon light that was seeping in from the holes in the cave sealing allowed him to see a little bit further into the bushes.

There he saw something green and long move into the light but apon him catching sight of it it reversed and slithered back into the bushes deeper into the shadows, disappearing in sight.

His eyebrows creased in confusion. Had that been a snake? It must've been, but why did it run away? Snakes didn't generally do that. He wasn't sure what it was but he decided not to mind it. Closing his eyes again he fell back to sleep.

The next time he opened his eyes, the rays from the sun were shining down. He took a moment to stare at the holes in the sealing before getting up in a sitting position. He stretched forward loosening his back muscles from the slightly uncomfortable sleep on the ground. He would really care for a bed right now. But even a prince had to go through hardships at times.

He checked his sword and amulet before glancing over to Gareki who wasn't in the spot he had been sleeping in last night. Yogi looked around the small area but there wasn't any sign of him. Getting to his feet he looked towards the tree Pastel was sleeping in. He called out his name and waited for a response but there wasn't one.

He took a couple steps closer to the tree before calling his name again. Still, there was no answer. "Where are they?" He whispered, placing a hand on the bark of the tree. Suddenly he heard a thud and whipped his head around only to see Gareki drop down from the stone wall and land on the ground in a crouch before standing up with his hood over his head. He faced Yogi with a not so happy look on his face.

He advanced forward walking towards him. "He's gone." He spoke irritably.

Yogi blinked not catching on to his words but when he did it was like a slap to the face. "Pastel? What do you mean he's gone?"

Gareki stopped in front of him, reaching a hand back he took off his hood revealing a small wound on the left side of his forehead that was bleeding. Drops of blood had slid down to his dark eyebrow but he didn't seem to notice. "He's been kidnapped is what I mean."

Yogi stared at his bleeding cut—more like a scratch. He shook his head deciding to ask about it after he asked about Pastel. "What!? How is that— we were here with him all last night. I know one of us would've woken up immediately if we heard something and I know Pastel would've at least yelled for help."

Gareki shook his head. "He was taken by surprise possibly and forced to be quiet."

Yogi's face turned from surprised to serious. He moved past Gareki heading for the exit of the dead end they were in. "We need to find him, we need him." His voice was suddenly stern and slightly deeper as well.

Gareki didn't follow him, he crossed his arms over his chest and stared at his back as he speedily walked farther away. "Calm down. We aren't going to get anywhere without a plan. I need to explain some things to you. . .I have a map and there's things we need to follow."

Yogi abruptly stopped and slowly turned to face him. "A map?"

"It's a letter too." Gareki unfolded a paper and held it out before reading it aloud. "I've been watching the three of you ever since you've entered the Ever Grove. My name is Ivy, a male spirit. I've taken your cat friend to the center of the Ever Grove where you will find both me and him. I like games with a challenge so how about I make this fun for you both. Collect four runes in specific order listed and bring them to me and then in return, your cat friend will be given back to you. I know how much you need him so don't waist any time. I 'll always be watching you."

"P.S The map of all the runes and where you need to go is all on the back of this paper, good luck."

Gareki turned the paper around and showed him the map and the list. He then dug in his pocket and pulled out a palm sized dark grey stone with an orange symbol on top of it. "I already got one of them so that leaves us with three and it wasn't easy getting it. He was right about the challenge."

Yogi slowly took the paper from his hand and read over the list. "So that's where you were and how you got that wound."

Gareki nodded, recalling the bleeding scratch on his temple. "This is the foxen rune, the first on the list. We have to collect the water demon, rock giant, and fire spirit runes all in order like he said. I guess if we don't then he'll kill Pastel.

Yogi looked up at him still with a serious expression. "We need to save him."

Gareki shoved the stone in his pocket once more. "As much as the cat gets on my nerves we do need him. Let's go." He walked past Yogi who folded up the map/list and followed after him.


	46. Please Read

_**Message to readers:**_

 _ **Sorry once again I haven't updated in a few days but that will be happening today, tomorrow, or tonight depending on where ever you're from. I decided to make a new book of DARK MAGIC, but it'll be a continuation of this book called DARK WAR so it should start off where DARK MAGIC ended. I didn't want to continue chapters for DARK MAGIC because I have a lot of chapters left until this book comes to an end and it's already on 45 chapters I don't want it to be a super long book like Undying Truth was so I cut it in half. So be prepared to read DARK WAR ARK 2 of DARK MAGIC ARK 1.**_

 _ **Thanks for reading this message and P.s I'm still moving into a new house so it might be another couple of days to update new chapters for the new book. Thanks for understanding.**_

 _ **GothinBlack**_


End file.
